Flames of Deceit
by Power-Surge
Summary: Sometimes your past comes back to haunt you, and sometimes you learn secrets about yourself that will change your life forever chap 8 is up
1. A Date for Three

Flames of Deceit _ Chapter one – A Date For Three

Ok basic summary- what seems to be a harmless date, turns out to be worse than a nightmare. A young woman may hold the key to who Hiei's father is, but what will it cost to retrieve the information? 

Disclaimer- No, sorry I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. This fic is based loosely on a game I found online. 

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Yusuke Urameshi leaned against his junior high school building as he waited for class to let out. He held up a hand to block off the sun's glare. His back felt pleasantly warm as the building had been heated by the sun's rays. The day was pleasantly cool despite the sun giving it's all. Far off the sound of birds chirping reached his ears. The day was perfect, complete with the cloudless sky. A dull scent of freshly cut grass lingered in the air. 

He yawned and listened lazily as the bell rang signaling school's end. The sound grew gradually as the front doors to the school opened up with. The students that exited were either talking amongst themselves or running at break neck speed to escape the captivity of long school hours. Hundreds of obnoxious kids ran down the stairs, among them was Keiko. The only girl that Yusuke was close to. In fact, the only girl who would talk to him at this school. 

He straightened as she approached him. A natural reaction for him. He watched in amusement as the kids around her backed off as she made her way towards him. It seemed that his presence still struck fear into the many students that attended this learning facility. He looked back to Keiko only to flinch seeing the angry expression on her face. Apparently he had done something that she did not approve of. He did that a lot, maybe more then he should. Keiko was a force to be reckoned with.

She approached him, not even trying to conceal her fury with him. Her brown eyes seemed to be shooting sparks in his direction. "Yusuke, why weren't you in class?" He still didn't know why she kept bothering to ask him that. He always skipped his classes. It annoyed Keiko to no extent, though no one was quite sure why.

His response to this was a shrug. He has been right at assessing that the anger had been aimed at him. He felt a twinge of guilt at being the cause of it. He instead tried to take her mind off of it. "Uh, Didn't you want to go somewhere tonight," he asked, changing the subject. Keiko's eyes narrowed, he was trying to avoid her question. She sighed and gave a reluctant nod.

"Yes, I did. I'm surprised you even remembered. You always run off without telling me where you're going." Yusuke shifted uncomfortably. That was true, he always promised to go with Keiko somewhere and always got sidetracked. Even more so since he became spirit detective. 

Keiko seemed to forget that quickly though, giving a glance behind her. "Plans kind of changed. You think you can be free next week? There's a new kid here, and I thought we could bring her along. She's a pretty nice girl." She stepped aside to show a girl of about 16. Yusuke thought she looked kind of dark with her waist long black hair and piercing green eyes. They looked almost cold and lifeless. It seemed to him like she could see right through him. He resisted the urge to shudder. He also wondered why someone of that age was still in junior high. That wasn't normal, maybe she kept failing the high school entry tests. She had given him a once over as well; she didn't seem too interested in him though, which seemed to relieve Keiko a bit. 

Yusuke noticed this, puzzled by why she cared so much. "Don't you have a friend that could go with her? It'll be like a double date," Keiko said, interrupting his thoughts. She gave him a look that said _don't-even-think-about-backing-out-of-this_. It was enough to scare anyone out of their wits.

Yusuke laughed nervously, he thought for a minute. He didn't have any friends at school. "Well of course, there's Kurama, and well, no not Kuwabara," he doubted the girl would put up with his flirting habits. "I doubt Hiei would." That would have been an interesting event. He'd only resort to him as a last resort, if Hiei would even consider it. That pretty much left him with one option. "Um, I'll ask Kurama." Keiko seemed pleased with this answer. Yusuke sighed in relief. Some of the pressure seemed to ease off of his shoulders.

"What are you guys talking about?" Who else would be eavesdropping but Kuwabara. He seemed to always show up at the wrong time. The new girl backed away from him as if he had a disease. Yusuke would have seen this if Kuwabara wasn't in his breathing space. Just a little bit too close for him, he took several steps back. "Are you guys going on a date?" Yusuke shot a glare at Kuwabara, and much to his dismay Keiko explained the whole scenario to him. Yusuke's face took on a forlorn look, _great how about we tell him our whole life stories too._ Kuwabara never noticed the sour look sent in his direction, he had been intently listening to Keiko. His face lit up with an idea. Yusuke was sure he almost saw the light bulb floating over his head.

"Really? I wonder if Yukina would like to come with us?" Kuwabara smiled as he imagined the ice apparition sitting next to him during a horror movie. The killer was coming, Her grip tightened around his arm. _Don't worry I'm here._

"Uh, excuse me. What do you mean us," Yusuke asked. Kuwabara came out of his trance and shrugged. "That isn't an answer. Now who said you were going? You can't just invite yourself."

"Oh, let him come Yusuke. He won't hurt anyone." Yusuke grumbled behind Keiko's back after she had turned. He could see Kuwabara behind her grinning dumbly.

"All right, now I can finally get Yukina to confess her love for me!" Kuwabara bent over to whisper in Yusuke's ear, "No offense Urameshi, but Keiko's friend is kinda creepy. Otherwise I'd go with her, but I get some kind of weird vibes off of her." _Weird vibes huh? _Yusuke wondered about this, Kuwabara had an eerily accurate sixth sense.

"You do know I can hear you, right?" Kuwabara jumped at hearing the strange girl talk; it seemed that everyone had forgotten she was there. She tapped her foot impatiently, her eyes filled with annoyance. No one liked to be forgotten.

Keiko's attention snapped back to her in an instant. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. This is Tsuki, but she doesn't really like her name. So you can call her Neko. That's her nickname," Keiko explained. "Neko, this is Yusuke and Kuwabara." She moved aside and let the three stare at each other awkwardly. It was a humorous scene to watch them all stand around. The girl was the first one to react.

Neko glanced at each of them and held out her hand. When Kuwabara cringed away from her, Yusuke accepted her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'll see what I can do about Kurama. See you later," He waved as he walked off, Keiko and Kuwabara followed him leaving Neko by herself. They had left her in a hurry. She shrugged and walked in the other direction. As she left their field of vision, her shoulders drooped and her pace slowed. Her symptoms were that of a girl who was suffering inside. She stared at the ground and kept walking, people watching her as she went.

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"Please Kurama, if I can't get anyone to go with Neko, Keiko will kill me." Yusuke watched as the red haired boy shook his head, a response Yusuke didn't care to receive.

"I'm sorry Yusuke, but I promised my mother I would go to visit her relatives with her. I'm leaving tomorrow, and I won't be back for two weeks." He watched as Yusuke's shoulders slumped. "Have you tried Kuwabara, I'm sure he would go," he suggested. 

"Actually, I don't know how he managed it, but he's going with Yukina," that was a miracle in itself. Yusuke thought for a moment. "So, if you can't go, then what am I going to do?" He slumped further down in the chair he sat in. He scanned the room out of boredom. His face lit up as he noticed that Hiei was sitting across from him. A smile spread across his lips. Hiei raised an eyebrow and stared back. His face went rigid in realization. 

"Detective, don't even think about it. I am not a pawn in this." He crossed his arms and glared at Yusuke. Kurama giggled at this but ceased when Hiei glared at him. He seemed to have that effect on people. Yusuke was desperate though; he had waited till the last minute to ask around. He regretted that now, if Keiko found out she'd probably kill him. 

"Aw, Come on. It's only once, no one said you had to marry her." Hiei's glare worsened, if that was possible. Yusuke shuddered. He held his chin in his hand, thinking hard on how to convince Hiei. His eyes took on a sly look and he turned back to the fire apparition. "You know if you go, you can keep Kuwabara from trying to do anything with your sister." He kept from smiling as Hiei's eyes narrowed. He waited patiently as Hiei pondered on this. It was an interesting concept to watch, his face held no emotion, but his eyes changed as he thought. 

As much as he despised of the idea of going on this ridiculous date, he didn't want Kuwabara trying anything on Yukina. He could either forget about it, or watch his sister like a hawk. It was a five-minute battle but the latter won out. "Fine, but don't ask for any more favors. I'm only doing this to keep an eye on that idiot." He settled down into a chair and started to mumble. Remarkably it sounded just like _this is stupid. _

"My life is saved, I mean, That's great. Who knows, maybe you'll like her. She's dark and scary just like you," He decided not to push when a cold stare was sent in his direction. "Oh, one more thing before I leave, we're all going to meet at the park at 5:30. Try not to be late." He gave one last glance at Hiei and turned to leave. The youkai didn't bother to watch him and turned to stare out the window.

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Hiei did show up on time, in fact he was early. The first one there. He paced and muttered as he waited for the five humans to arrive. Not out of nervousness, but out of irritation and lack of patience. His mood was still sour from being talked into it. As far as he was concerned it was an obsolete ignorant human ritual. He had to remind himself several times as to why he was there so he didn't run in the other direction. That idea was becoming more and more enticing. The few humans that were out kept staring at him, seems he had become a spectacle.

The weather was morbid. Thick gray clouds darkened the sky suggesting rain. It seemed to fit Hiei's mood. It was once again cool, but not to the point to have to have to wear a jacket. Another human passed Hiei, giving him an intrigued stare. Perhaps the reason for the stares had been Hiei's attire. As normal he had on his black robe. He could have easily used telepathy to find out, but it didn't really matter to him. He didn't care.

Kuwabara was the second to arrive. When he saw Hiei, he looked around as if he had gone to the wrong place. The youkai chose to ignore him. He might as well be invisible as far as he was concerned. The boy didn't seem to like that response however.

"What are you doing here shorty?" Hiei's face remained impassive, something that quite irked Kuwabara.

"Something that your feeble mind couldn't comprehend. Now get out of my face you moron." Kuwabara stepped back, an aggravated look on his face. He always took on that look when Hiei insulted him. Today was no different.

"Hey, you take that back. I don't want to get all mad before my date." He looked Hiei over suspiciously. A suggestion entered his mind. "Hey wait a minute. You're not Neko's date are you!?!" He watched as Hiei smirked and nodded once. "Oh man! Neko may be creepy and all, but she deserves better than you." Hiei frowned. As if this was his idea?

"Quit yelling you baffoon, I'm only five feet away from you. You can thank Urameshi for dragging me into this." He rolled his eyes as he watched a dumbstruck Kuwabara. "Must I spell it out for you? Kurama couldn't go, so I stepped in for him." He closed his eyes and leaned against a tree. 

"Hey shorty, don't ignore me! Well at least I got a date on my own." He stuck his tongue out at Hiei as he opened one eye and raised an eyebrow. He chose not to respond to this and looked away again leaving Kuwabara looking quite irritated. 

"You know you guys fight too much. You're starting to scare people." They both turned to see Yusuke laughing at them as several spectators turned their heads away. At least someone is in a good mood. Yusuke sauntered over to them. Kuwabara gave the people watching a disgusted look. Most of them were walking away by now, recognizing the third member.

Yusuke scrunched up his nose and looked over at Kuwabara. "Kuwabara, are you wearing after shave," he asked as he inspected Kuwabara.

"It's cologne you dummy! I thought I should smell nice for my Yukina" He puffed out his chest trying to demonstrate his manliness. He slumped when Yusuke started laughing quite loudly. "Shut it Urameshi!! Hey where are the girls by the way?" He looked around anxiously. One might compare him to a lost puppy looking for its owner. 

"They went to Neko's house, She doesn't know the way to the park yet, and they're going to show her." Yusuke sat down on a bench. "Might as well sit down yourself, it'll probably be a while. Besides we're all early." He glanced over at Hiei. "I see you actually showed." He grunted in reply. 

"Against my wishes. Don't your forget that. You still owe me for this," an odd moment of silence followed. Yusuke was intent on watching Kuwabara fidget nervously. Moments passed quietly, which for Yusuke was welcome for once. 

Hiei glanced around and stopped when he saw three figures approaching. "They're here." He made no effort to move from his spot, but Yusuke and Kuwabara jumped up. Though Yusuke wasn't trying to flex his muscles or puff out his chest like Kuwabara was. Hiei was quite amused at watching the boy making an idiot of himself. Yusuke slowly started to edge away from him. 

Hiei waited with much patience as the three figures came slowly into focus. It didn't take them long to reach the meeting spot. He recognized the blue haired girl as his sister Yukina, though she still didn't know. Though neither did Kuwabara and the idiot was still trying to help her find her brother. Hiei found this to be a great annoyance. Even more aggravating was the fact that Yusuke and Kurama found it humorous.

He looked at the other girl with short brown hair and recognized her as Keiko. The unfamiliar one was obviously Neko. Despite himself he gave a slight smile at the outfit she had on. A black tank top, black mini skirt, and black knee high boots. _Well at least one of the humans has taste. _He slowly unfolded his arms and straightened up. As he looked at her, he thought for a moment that she had some connection with him. That was quite stupid, he had never met her before. He mentally shook his head and looked at the other two girls. He noted that they had on makeup and lighter colored clothes. Keiko had probably helped his sister get ready. Yusuke glanced from Neko to Hiei, if she had any objections to the black robe he wore, she didn't voice them.

Kuwabara and Yusuke looked quite shocked at the staggering difference in Neko's appearance. Part of her long hair had been pulled back and some curls framed her face. She was actually smiling too. Their attention was quickly diverted when they noticed Keiko giving them disapproving looks. Yukina didn't really seem to care that Kuwabara was still wide eyed. "Umm, should we go," Yusuke said, surprise still in his voice. Reluctantly, the rest of the group followed.

Ok, so what do you think of it? I want some reviews, good or bad. I want to make this enjoyable for most readers, so lend me your advice and ideas.


	2. Out of hell's flames

Flames of DeceitChapter 2-

Brief summary of last chapter-Keiko forced Yusuke into going on a "triple date". When Yusuke couldn't get Kurama to go with the new girl, Hiei took his place. Tonight, both Neko and Hiei will get more than they bargained for.

Disclaimer-Sorry don't own the show.

Yusuke glanced up at the list of movies. "This selection sucks," he said bluntly. Kuwabara nodded in agreement. Keiko didn't seem to care and was explaining all of the movies to Yukina, though all Yukina did was nod her head. Neko stood to one side watching them discuss which was better. Again Yusuke felt as if she could see something that the others couldn't. Her eyes seemed all knowing. He glanced over at Hiei who was now leaning against the building with his arms crossed. He was about to say something to him about lightening up, when Keiko interrupted him.

"This is the movie we're going to watch," she announced. The rest of them looked up at a poster that had a boat and a couple depicted on it. On it was the word _Titanic_. Neko's face became sour and the boys groaned in protest, well at least two of them, the other wasn't even paying attention. "Stop whining. It's only a movie, and besides we can watch this movie for free. They brought a whole bunch of old movies in and are giving out free tickets for them." Yusuke groaned even louder, Hiei finally noticing them, found this entertaining. "Yusuke quit being a brat, besides this is the movie that Yukina wanted to see." To the others it looked like somehow Keiko had talked her into it. She held a confused look on her face.

Kuwabara wasn't that keen though, "Well if that's what my Yukina wants to see, then we'll see it." Yusuke slapped his forehead and mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like _stupid_. Before Kuwabara could acknowledge it, Keiko had already grabbed Yusuke's hand and dragged him inside. "Hey wait for me guys!" Neko followed them shortly after giving a discouraging look at the poster. Hiei didn't follow until he remembered that his sister and _the idiot_ were out of sight. That gave him enough motivation to move away from the wall and enter the building. He still would have preferred the light drizzle outside to the brightly-lit theater. People milled around entering and exiting. A loud hum of noise and talking reached their ears.

"Six tickets," Keiko stated. Yusuke was still scowling when they received their tickets. Hiei noticed it continued until a certain girl stomped on his foot. He also noted the Neko was still keeping her distance from the group. For a moment he thought he saw a look of despair in her eyes as she looked at a family laughing, but that had nothing to do with him, so he ignored it.

Yusuke had noticed it as well and gave her a concerned glance. Neko must have seen however, and turned away from him.

After purchasing whatever snacks they could find, the group finally made it's way to their seats. Ads were still playing on the screen when they entered, and it seemed an eternity until the lights dimmed. Even then they had to put up with the usual previews. Hiei had never been in a theater before but was already starting to dislike it. All of the previews looked pointless to him. He muttered again and Neko thought she caught the word _stupid._

Yusuke nudged Kuwabara and pointed over at Neko and Hiei. They both had their arms crossed and looked quite sullen. Yusuke started imitating them. "They could pass for identical if one wasn't a girl," he said. Kuwabara laughed and nodded in agreement. He shut his mouth very quickly when he noticed that Hiei was staring daggers at them. "You know, it doesn't help that he's a telepath," Yusuke commented.

Keiko punched him in the arm, "Shut up the movies coming on." Neko watched without interest, though she was sure she heard snoring coming from Yusuke's direction within the first five minutes of the movie.

Neko stretched after they came out of the theater, she seemed quite glad that the movie was over. She glanced over at Hiei, who was intently watching Yusuke. She diverted her attention to him as well and suppressed a smile. "Yusuke, how could you go to sleep like that?!? You missed over half of the movie!" Yusuke laughed nervously and tried to explain himself.

"Well, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I was really tired. Honest! Besides, American's make stupid movies anyway." He gulped as Keiko drew her hand back, a split second before she could hit him, he took off running.

"Come back here you jerk!" She took off running after him yelling unpleasant words in his direction. Yukina held a bemused look on her face and followed the two, unsure why she did. Perhaps she didn't want to get left behind.

Kuwabara joined in on the chase as well. "Hey guys, wait for me!" He muttered something about not being left out. Neko watched them round the corner, leaving her and Hiei alone. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"They ditched us," she commented. She sat down on a nearby bench and looked up at the night sky. The sky had cleared; the only evidence of rain was the damp ground. That and the smell of wet grass.

"I was going to leave the movie anyway, and then finally people started to die." Neko looked over at Hiei and smirked. He returned the glance and then walked off in the other direction. She watched him curiously until he vanished. She was unsure of what to do now that she was alone, so she waited. It all seemed so quiet, she closed her eyes and listened as bugs chirped. People looked at her strangely, but she didn't care. She couldn't them after all. She heard faint footsteps they stopped and she knew they were stopped to look at her.

Amazingly after ten minutes Hiei had returned. Neko opened her eyes and turned to look at him. He looked at her for a moment and finally said, "I had to check on someone. Hmmm, I guess you need to eat." Hiei pondered on why the hell he had suggested that. It was not at all like him. Neko held a similar puzzled look on her face; she shrugged after a minute. If he wanted to get her food she might as well accept it.

Neko sat quietly eating her food watching Hiei drink a glass of water, which he did only to fit in with the crowd. She noticed that he had deliberately put distance between them. Probably to divert attention away from him. She didn't care though. A hazy layer of cigarette smoke hung in the air lazily. It stung Neko's eyes, but she had become used to that sometime ago. Waiters shuffled past her busily and idle chatter of customers could be heard. Aromas of different types of food filled the air each time a server passed, though she was quite content with the smell of her own. She had barely touched it though. She took a sip from her own glass and caught sight of Hiei sitting across from her.

He kept looking around him as if someone was watching them. It was either that or he was extremely bored. After a while she started to wonder why he was wearing a black robe. She was also curious about the bandana. She decided to ask to make conversation. " How come you're wearing that bandana?"

Hiei looked at her warily, somewhat annoyed at the question. Why did he have to get stuck on this stupid date? He was going to kill Kurama when he came back. "I just do." Neko seemed disappointed in the lack of length in the answer. She looked down and picked at her food. She looked over at the family next to her and smiled sadly at them. Hiei became curious at her interest in other's families. He quickly asked a question when she looked as if she would cry. That was something he wouldn't be able to stand. "What the heck kind of name is Neko?"

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "That was really polite," she said. He thought she was about to yell at him, when instead she smiled; though it was a hollow one. One that held no happiness, but sorrow. As did her eyes. "It's my nickname. Someone very close to me gave it to me a long time ago. They told me that I was as curious as a cat. That's what Neko means, cat, from then on that's what I've been called." She looked up for a moment and then laughed uneasily. "Kind of silly isn't it?" Hiei looked at her for a moment wondering if he should answer that. He decided against it and leaned back in his chair. _Cat huh? I suppose she does kind of resemble one, mostly her eyes. I just wish she would quit looking so damned depressed. Wonder what the reason is, not like I care though._

Neko jumped back when suddenly his glass of water exploded. A cold splash of liquid flew in her direction, but most of it missed her. She wiped the small amount of what had hit her out of her eyes. She looked up and saw a giant bouncy ball in Hiei's glass. A woman nearby yelled, "Alex get over here right now!" A young boy with sandy hair, presumably Alex, ran over and removed the ball from the glass and ran off. Neko would have watched the young boy, but she saw Hiei covered in water and she jumped up to help wipe him off. That was until he removed his bandana. She quickly realized why he kept it on.

She watched with interest as Hiei's third eye opened. That was something you didn't see every day. Its bright blue contrasted with the reddish brown in his other two. She quickly realized he looked extremely angry. In fact she thought she saw flames in his eyes, then she noticed that is was a reflection of the fire he held in his hand. How the hell could he hold fire? He suddenly rose and tossed a handful of fire at the restaurant and it became enveloped in the flames. Explosions in the kitchen sent debris flying every which way. The fire licked at anything in its path. Everything was now in a reddish tint. The smell and taste of smoke soon filled the air, causing several people to tear at the eyes involuntarily. Panic was snaking through the crowd rapidly and shrieks from women and children overpowered the roar of the flames.

Neko looked slightly bewildered as the people around her screamed and ran for cover. That didn't happen a lot either. "This is a great thing to tell people about. _What did you do on your date?_ Well my date attacked the restaurant because he got wet," she thought she caught a glint of something in the corner of her eye. She glanced around at the flames and saw a man surrounded in a glowing aura. At least it looked like a man at first, she noticed that it had pointed ears and deep crimson eyes. The same color as the energy he was surrounded in. The flames greedily edged towards him but seemed to disintegrate within a few feet of the creature. Neko's eyes were glued to him in amazement. He had obviously noticed and turned to look at her as well. He gave a yellow toothed grin at her. Dirty thoughts probably running through his mind about her. She shuddered and looked back over at Hiei who seemed quite pleased with himself until he noticed the figure too. He gave a frown and narrowed eyes at him.

Neko realized she was probably in a dangerous position and she started to back away, only to be confronted by the fire. Very quickly she remembered that humans burn when touched by fire. The smoke stung her eyes and they began to water. She turned away from the inferno back to the only ones still there.

"So you found me. Good for you. Too bad I'm not finished with you yet Hiei. Perhaps I should play with your little female friend too." Another grin confirmed that he was having fantasies that Neko didn't care to indulge. She took another step backwards trying to put distance between the two of them. Hiei seemed perturbed by this nuisance. He shook his head and his eyes narrowed. Even a human female being violated disgusted him. He watched his opponent, trying to assess how best to attack him. He saw the youkai moving his hands awkwardly. He brushed the thought aside.

"Heh, So you lived. I'll soon remedy that." Hiei grinned with some arrogance. He was confident he would win this fight. Neko watched as he drew a sword and got into a fighting stance. This would be too much for a normal human to take in, however she never had been like anyone else. She also noticed the youkai's odd hand movements, like he was manipulating something. That was also the time she noticed a bluish ball of energy speeding towards Hiei from behind. _Damn dirty bastard._

"LOOK OUT!" Her warning echoed but reached the intended person in time. Hiei spun around and quickly dodged the attack. "So that's why your hands twitched like that." The youkai flashed a crooked grin at him before launching itself at Neko. She gave a look of terror and tried to get out of the way. Unfortunately the fire had been sneaking up on her. She let out a surprised yelp as it bit at her ankles. She had no way out. Burn or be attacked.

Suddenly Hiei blurred away and grabbed a hold of Neko's arm and tossed her into the air, so she would not be a distraction. Though part of his mind told him that he had done it to save the girl as well. The youkai watched with amusement as the girl screamed from both surprise and fright. Normally humans didn't do these type of acrobatics unless they were in the Olympics. He didn't notice Hiei blurring away again.

Neko watched as the ground below her spun around, the wind knocked out of her. The wind whipped around her as she twisted and turned abnormally. She caught sight of the demon below her who was laughing. Or he was laughing until he spit up blood. An agonized look melted away his grin. Neko realized the ground would soon meet her face, and she almost missed the creature fall apart to the ground in twitching chunks. She heard a loud THUD, and noticed that Hiei had caught her in midair. He landed on his feet and set her down. It took her a moment to recover; after all she was quite dizzy. "Well, that was new." She risked a glance at the pile of charred body parts that was burning into ashes. "Did you do that," she asked with uncertainty.

Hiei looked down at her with a smirk. "He should never have let his guard down, I only got him 21 times." Neko simply sat there looking shocked. Hiei seemed to enjoy the look of surprise on her face, then he noticed the red on her outfit. "Are you injured?" Why he felt compelled to ask why was beyond him. It just seemed to be the right thing at the moment.

Neko shook her head; "I don't think so." She attempted to stand, but a burning sensation went through her leg and she collapsed into Hiei's arms. "Well then again, my ankle hurts a little bit." She looked down and noticed that there was a gash in her arm as well, probably from a shard of glass. The blood was trickling down her side. She noticed that her hair was in disarray, tussled all over the place, she looked up Hiei. "Um, sorry about that," she said noticing that he seemed bewildered at holding her like this.

His face quickly cleared. He picked up his discarded bandana and bent down to Neko. She grimaced but did not scream as he wound it tight around her arm. He was slightly impressed that the girl had control over her pain like that and that she hadn't run like a fool when he blew up the restaurant. He looked back down to her ankle that looked swollen, probably sprain as well as burned. "Well I guess that means I'll have to carry you home." And so he did avoiding looking at her the whole time.

When they arrived at her doorstep he set her down, careful to avoid eye contact. He placed a barrette in Neko's hand. "Here, you dropped this." Neko looked it over looking grateful, both for that and his assistance with her wound. She thanked him and kissed him on the cheek quickly, not really sure why she did. Somehow she felt drawn to him. He resisted the urge to hold his face from astonishment.

"Um, I-I have to go now," he said looking shocked. He turned to leave, but gave one final glance and smirked. "Wash the blood out of your outfit. It clashes. And remember, none of this ever happened." Neko nodded and would have waved, but Hiei was gone before she even thought of it. She pocketed the barrette and unlocked her door and entered her house. She quickly changed and crawled into her bed. She thought of the night's occurrences. It had all seemed to go by so fast. She wasn't even sure it had happened at all. She closed her eyes and let darkness over come her.

That night Neko slept uneasily for she had a nightmare. One of a land of flames and ice, for a fleeting second she thought she recognized the place. But the feeling of familiarity soon vanished. The place had an eerie feel to it, much like a graveyard after dark. Suddenly she felt as if she was being chased, so she ran. A foreboding essence of darkness seemed to over come her, but still she ran. She kept looking back, only to see shadows. No tangible beings, just the creatures of darkness that loomed over her. The cold and heat that were driving into her didn't help.

Some objects started to come into focus. Ridges in the ground that she had to dodge. She was snagged by several of them and dragged down. She kept fumbling with her footing as she was pursued by the unseen danger. Behind her darkness threatened to swallow her, in front of her the ice and fire clashed, creating an impressive, but dangerous display of fireworks. She dodged the flames that licked at her clothes and the shards of ice that came hurtling towards her. A feeling of fear and terror ripped at her insides, threatening to drive her insane.

Then she heard voices. Not very clear, muffled. As if they were far away. She was sure they were angry with her, they wanted to kill her. A figure stepped before her and reached out with a gnarled hand. It tried to grab her put she pulled away, only to meet more of the robed figures. They towered before her, all reaching out. She let out a scream and awoke with a start in her own home.

She realized she had fallen out of her bed and was lying on the cold hard wood floor. Her clothes and sheet clung to her from the cold sweat she was soaked in. Her mind was still rattled and terrified, and she was still trembling with fright. It had seemed so real, like a memory from someone's past. Could it have been hers? She closed her eyes as she tried to regulate her erratic breathing. She took a deep breath and turned on the lamp that was within her reach. Even if she was tired, she didn't think she wanted to sleep any time soon.

Ok, and review. That was kind of a weird chapter I think. Oh well, it had to happen in order to make the story move, you'll see how in the next chap. I wonder if Neko, or Tsuki, if you want to call her that, will forgive the rest of the gang for leaving her alone? What do you guys think of Neko by the way? I tried to give her a bit of an attitude; she'll need it later on. Well see you guys next chap

Power surge


	3. Unthinkable

Hello again my faithful viewers. Thanks for the reviews. I've been watching rerun episodes of the show. It got boring after a while, and then they shut off my cable! Now I can no longer watch them. Oh well, I still have my story to keep me company. I just realized I made an error in the first chapter...I said Yusuke was at high school, I meant Jr. High. Yusuke is curious as to why someone of Neko's age is still at that grade level. The error has been corrected and I've added on a bit to the past chapters. Ok lets see here...

Summary of last chap-Hiei got drug along on the "triple date", ended up getting left alone with Neko. For odd reasons, he took her to a restaurant, and with his less than adequate patience, blew it up. They were then attacked by a youkai for unknown reasons. Neko ended up having a dream that could have been a memory from a past life.

And........here we go.

Flames of Deceit-Chapter 3-Unthinkable

Neko sat by herself at break, keeping her eyes down. Several eyes were peering at her; she had chosen to ignore the dress code and was wearing a simple black T-shirt and black jeans. Frenzied whispers went around the room like wild fire. A couple brave ones even pointed. Neko found herself growling lowly in her throat. _Don't people in this town have manners?_ She picked annoyingly at the questionable food in front of her. A lump of gray looking stuff that smelled just as plain as it looked. She crossed her arms and looked up at the staring faces. Abruptly people suddenly found something more important they needed to do. _Perfect, they're all a bunch of cowards too._

She went back to poking at the mystery whatever the hell it was that sat in front of her. The conversation about her picked up just as quickly as it had died. She listened to those around her, suddenly feeling very agitated. "Doesn't she know that every girl has to wear a uniform?" "Maybe she hasn't gotten her uniform yet." "She looks real creepy sitting there like that." "What is someone her age still doing in Jr. High? I wonder if she got held back." "I heard she tried to kill someone and so they put her here." "Maybe we should tell her to go away, I don't want to be a victim of attempted murder."

A crashing noise was heard as Neko suddenly jumped up. Her tray was scattered on the floor several feet away from her. All eyes gazed wide-eyed at her. Her fists were clenched and trembling and her eyes held fire in them as she glared at the whole room. _All talking about me, what the hell did I do to deserve this?_ She thought about which one she should attack first. She shook her head, deciding against it. She sat calmly back down and crossed her arms, not taking her eyes off of those who had insulted her. _Damn them all, I don't want to be here. The least they could do is stop talking about me._

She nearly punched at something when a hand hammered down on her shoulder. She thought better and turned around with an angry demeanor. It was only Yusuke. She relaxed and offered a seat to him. "You shouldn't let them talk about you like that." She only blinked back at him. She shrugged, it didn't matter now. The room's noise had died as soon as Yusuke had entered the room. She could imagine their thoughts though. _Oh great, she's friends with Urameshi. We better stay away from the murderer._

"What do you want," she asked, sounding colder than she wanted. She still hadn't forgot about him and the others ditching her with Hiei. Her eyes must have given her away.

"To apologize, Keiko is forcing me to. Just don't tell her that," He didn't want the face the wrath of another one of Keiko's slaps. He had gotten plenty of those for making fun of that idiotic movie last night. "We shouldn't have left you alone with Hiei," _especially with his mental stability_, he added silently. "He didn't do anything stupid did he?"

"He only blew up the restaurant we were in," she said casually. The look on Yusuke's face was priceless, she wished she had a camera on hand.

"HE DID WHA-Wait, he took you to a restaurant?" Neko noted that Yusuke's reaction had greatly differed in mid sentence from angered surprise to astonished surprise. It quite amused her. To Yusuke Hiei causing mass destruction was believable, but him in a restaurant was hard to acknowledge. His shock grew when Neko nodded. He suddenly envisioned Hiei in a tie at a formal restaurant. He suppressed a smile at the hilarious image.

Neko suddenly stood, "I'm going back to class. Break's almost over." She gave him an unethusiastic wave and walked off in the other direction. Yusuke noticed she was on crutches today and that her arm was bandaged. He sighed, pondering on why Hiei had even bothered to stay around the human girl after they had left. It was unlike him, he'd have to bug him about it later.

"So, do you like her?" Hiei raised an eyebrow in the spirit detective's direction. The question came as a surprise, partly due to the fact that the teenager had just barged in.

"Where did that come from." He asked slightly agitated. He crossed his arms and continued to sit on the windowsill, staring out at the setting sun. The sky was tinged with an elaborate display of pinks and oranges. He may have enjoyed it, had he not been actually thinking about the question. It puzzled him that he actually cared. Did he like the human girl? The cold emotionless barrier he wore told him no. Though he couldn't help but still ponder on it. He scowled at himself for such thoughts. Love was an ignorant thing. Then why had he done such a foolish thing earlier today? He had told no one of what he had done, of course he didn't want to admit it himself, so that didn't help much. He kept mentally kicking himself because of it.

"Just a question. You like her don't you? That's why you took her to the restaurant," the boy said in a taunting voice. Hiei turned slowly to glare at him. He would have thrown something at the boy if there was anything within his reach. If only looks could kill, the boy would be on the ground twitching right now.

"Detective, if you value your voice box, I suggest you drop it." Hiei looked quite infuriated, and even Yusuke knew when it was time to quit agitating him. He looked as if he was giving a pretty good struggle with it though. He instead decided to somewhat change the subject, though not by much. That may have not been the best of ideas.

"Don't suppose you heard about any restaurants blowing up?" That had done it. Hiei's eyes narrowed with death showing in them. He would have lunged at the boy's throat had Kuwabara not come down the stairs at that moment.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" He looked at the two of them, one looking like the angel of death. He finally looked back to Yusuke. "What's eating shorty?" He pointed a thumb in the youkai's direction. He scowled and turned back to the window.

After a brief description of the restaurant incident from Yusuke, who seemed intent to keep looking over warily in Hiei's direction, Kuwabara looked dumbstruck. Hiei looked at him slightly bemused. And here he thought the boy couldn't look any stupider than he already did. "You should keep that pose, it suits your small intellectual capacity." Hiei's arrogance hid some of the anger in his eyes. Too bad Kuwabara didn't notice it. Hiei could have done with attacking something at the moment.

"Hey shrimp, I heard that!" He rose quit quickly, causing Yusuke to topple over. He clenched his fists and started yelling. "Why don't you come over here and say that to my face!"

"Sorry, I don't wish to lower myself to your level of idiocy." It took a moment to sink in, but by that time, Hiei had already exited the room through the now open window. Kuwabara stared with his mouth hanging open.

"If you keep that up long enough, you might catch a few bugs for dinner," Yusuke laughed as his friend quickly shut his mouth. That of course didn't last long. He opened it just as suddenly to start yapping.

"He just left cause he's afraid of my wrath," Yusuke rolled his eyes. Kuwabara's wrath would probably have included him in the ER He was no match for Hiei when it came to swords, or speed, or well just about everything. Yusuke seemed to find that thought funny and left an aggravated Kuwabara wondering while he laughed. "Urameshi, you're weird."

The two turned when Botan entered, looking less cheery than usual. She looked around uneasily, "Are you sure it's ok with Kurama for you guys to be in his house while he's gone?" Yusuke held up a key in reply.

"He told me to look after his place. I think it's ok enough. He didn't seem to care as long as we don't kill the neighbors."

"Or his house," Kuwabara added trying to be helpful.

"You idiot, you can't kill something that was never living to begin with." Kuwabara shot him a look that really wasn't all that terrifying. He laughed and threw a pillow at him. "Lighten up would you, now what do you want Botan?" He had nearly forgotten that she was there. She looked as if she had something urgent to tell him.

"Koenma sent me, I'm afraid we have some bad news," she said.

"What's new?" Yusuke was always receiving bad news; it didn't really seem to bother him anymore. Botan thought he was still taking it too lightly.

"Yusuke I wish you would take this seriously, this is your job after all," she said watching him yawn. She gave an exasperated sigh. "There's been some recent youkai activity in the area. Koenma wants you to check it out and see what you can find." She stopped as the spirit detective started to laugh.

"Did I forget to tell you that Hiei blew up a restaurant," he asked innocently.

"No, Yusuke that's not what I mean-HE DID WHAT?!?" Yusuke picked at his ear trying to make the ringing stop. He was amazed it took her that long to realize what he said. Kuwabara remembered what he had been told began laughing with Yusuke.

"That was pretty much my same reaction," Yusuke commented to Botan. "You have to admit, it's pretty funny." The image of Hiei dressed as a gentleman intruded his thoughts again.

"Not if Koenma or his father finds out," Yusuke looked at her for a moment. "Don't worry. I won't tell, but I just hope he doesn't do it again." Yusuke sighed with relief. Hiei had his bad moments, but to Yusuke, he was a pretty decent guy. "If that had been the incident, we'd know about it. But it was another youkai. We think he's been hiding out on Earth for years. He's not on any recent records, as a matter of fact we can't find any data on him." Yusuke looked up. _No data huh?_

"So, you guys are sending me in blind like you did with the Saint Beasts and Toguro?" Botan nodded solemnly.

"Oh goodie," Yusuke said, lacking enthusiasm. "How bout I start tomorrow? I wanna get some sleep. You're lucky I'm doing this at all. Maybe I'll ask Hiei if he's seen any thing out of place."

Botan looked up, "That reminds me. What is he doing staying at Kurama's?" Yusuke shrugged.

"I dunno, he said something about staying here for a while to see how humans live. That's weird even for him. Oh well, that's his business." He yawned and stood. "I'm going home to sleep. See you all later." He waved and exited, the other two following shortly.

On the roof...

Hiei had heard everything. With a little help from his telepathic abilities of course. He already knew about the youkai activity. It had to have been the one that attacked him. He tried to push the thought from his mind. Too late, he was already thinking about it. _So, do you like her?_ The question rang through his mind. He kept telling himself no, but that didn't seem to solve anything. He finally shook his head and stood. Maybe running would clear his mind, he suddenly remembered he couldn't let any humans see him using his abnormal speed. He could always go into town. That idea was quickly shot down. He shivered at the thought of being near so many humans.

Another thought intruded his mind. What he had done earlier. He suddenly hit himself muttering what sounded to be _stupid_. He would have to deal with it now. It meant he actually had to go through with it. He cursed himself.

He kept battling himself. He didn't like her. _But maybe he did_. No, that would be stupid. _Well, maybe-_No! He growled, this was going to be a long night. After several minutes, he became fed up with it and ignored the voices in his head. He sighed and looked around for something to take his mind off of it. The sky seemed adequate enough. He looked out at the full moon. It shown brilliantly in the darkened sky and gave a peaceful glow to everything it touched. Night had fallen quickly and now all was quiet.

Neko walked along the road scowling. Several families sat on their porch enjoying the night, until Neko went past them. Odd enough for her to be out that late. Even odder for her to be muttering profanities at someone she referred to as _old geezer_. Whoever it was, they had definitely upset her. She was also muttering about _stupid kids and their idiocy._

Apparently one of the kids at school had pulled the fire alarms. It had reminded her of the dream. She shook her head and looked up at the moon. She looked back down quickly. She hated the moon. She wasn't sure why, she just did. She continued walking, watching the ground beneath her.

Finally she came to the path that led to her house. The gravel crunched beneath her, she didn't notice the footsteps that had been imprinted there. She walked up the stairs to her door. All the lights were off, no car, and no noises from within. To Neko, that was normal. She pulled out her key and started to unlock the door. She stopped after noticing something white at her feet. She bent down picking it up, revealing that it was a letter. Odd, who would be leaving letters on her doorstep?

She opened it carefully and read the contents. Her eyes widened and she flipped the letter over then looked around the street as if looking for evidence of the letter's deliverer. She quickly opened her door, threw her bag on the floor, and fell into a chair. She flipped on the lamp, and read the letter again. Maybe she had read it wrong. This was unthinkable. For some odd reason, she thought a third read would change the message. It didn't. She glanced at it again, this time reading aloud.

Neko

Looks like you survived the restaurant encounter. I suppose you're upset about being interrupted, I'll make it up to you this Friday. Something that is going on then interested me, thought I might as well bring you along... I'll meet you at your house at 6 p.m. Be ready.

Hiei

Oh Hiei and his way with words. Ok dokey....eh sorry bout making Hiei so emotional. He has to have some emotions right? I'll make him toughen up in the next chappies. The only reason he's like that in this one is because he is actually puzzled by Yusuke's question.

I know some of my readers want to see Kurama, don't worry. He comes back before the end.

By the way, some of you forgot that Neko's real name is Tsuki. Here's an interesting fact. Tsuki means moon. It has a special meaning in this story. She hates her name and the moon. Anyone want to make any guesses as to why? Keeps you guys wondering.

I'm bored. I want sugar. Anybody like Inu Yasha? I do. One of my other favorite animes. Well if you do, check out Spitfire Kagome and Dark Kagome,. OK., I admit it. They're my friends, but you should read some of them.

Power Surge


	4. Danger awaits us all

Ok and i'm back in action!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO.

Ok, enough for now. By the way...anyone have a problem with how I spell Keiko? I spell it the way I saw it on several websites.

Summary of last chap-Botan has told Yusuke that he must investigate a youkai disturbance in the area. Meanwhile, Hiei (debating with himself whether or not he likes Neko) has left a note for Neko to find. Most miraculously he has asked her to accompany him somewhere later on in the week.

Chapter 4-Danger Awaits us All

Yusuke grumbled irritably as he walked down the hall of his school. One of the rare days he decided to go, everyone just had to antagonize him. One of the new kids had even tried to pick a fight with him. He had left him moments ago in a twitching mess on the floor. Needless to say, he wouldn't be bothering him anymore. He felt a tug on his foot and looked down to discover that someone's gum had hitched a ride on his shoe. As if the day couldn't get any worse. Several of the students edged away listening to Yusuke's streak of curse words.

He ran down a flight of stairs and stopped suddenly, nearly causing skid marks on the floor. He had nearly run into a crowd of students who were looking astonished at something. Something interesting had caught all of their attention. Yusuke elbowed his way through them and got a good look. He did a double take seeing a mangle of students lying on the floor. Most of them appeared to be unconscious and those who weren't were moaning in pain. One kid even looked like he might have a broken arm. He might have laughed at this, but for once used his brain remembering what Botan said about youkai activity. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, wondering if that's what had been able to hurt so many students. That feeling quickly faded when he spotted none other then Kuwabara standing a few feet away from the mess.

That struck him as odd, even Kuwabara didn't pick that many fights. That was about the time that he noticed his peer was nursing black blue bruises of his own. A couple of his friends were crowded around looking concerned. "I don't think you should pick anymore fights with her. She just took out all those guys," he waved a hand at the students on the floor. "I don't think she thought it was funny when you called her creepy," another said. Yusuke looked around at the pile up in front of him, a girl did this? For a moment he thought it could have been Keiko, but dismissed the idea having just seen her at the opposite end of the school.

Kuwabara looked quite disoriented and had a far off look in his eyes. He looked like he had just come out of a wrestling match with his sister. It took him several moments to recover. "I think you guys are right, I'll never go near her again. I think she hits harder than Urameshi."

If Yusuke hadn't already been in a bad mood, he may have spared the teenager another lump on the head. Instead he brought a hand down on Kuwabara's head. The boy went down and a half a smile appeared on his face. "What do you know. I feel better." He laughed a little bit as Kuwabara sat back up dizzy. "Remember, no one hits harder than me!" Suddenly his eyes widened in shock as an object hammered the back of his head shooting pain through his body. He fell clutching the spot that had been hit. It burned for a moment, well actually several moments. Slowly, very slowly the pain started to subside. He rolled over and looked up at the ceiling. The image was hazy for a few seconds. The scenery spun for a minute.

Slowly objects came back into focus. He was sure that one of them was a person from the colors. Probably the one that hit him gloating over the victory. Someone was standing over him, someone who was a girl. Green eyes stared upon him watching his reaction with slight interest. Realization dawned on him. He knew this person. It was Neko.

She offered a hand to him. He hesitated and looked up at her. He thought for a moment he saw a look of emotional pain in her eyes, it quickly vanished making Yusuke believed it was an after effect of the punch. Either that or she really needed some mental help. She looked down at him as well and gave a small smile. "Sorry bout that, natural reaction." Yusuke took her hand, seeing that the look in her eyes was that of sincere apology. Besides, he didn't want to sit on the floor all day. He normally would have been angry, but he was instead dazed.

He looked at the boys behind him, and then back to Neko. "You did that?" She nodded with half a smile. He gingerly touched the back of his head; it was still sensitive to the touch. He resisted flinching; no wonder why those guys were in pain. She had a lot of force in her blows. Youkai had only hit him that hard before. Strong ones. An idea struck him. _Could she be the youkai Botan was talking about?_ With her dark appearance and abnormal strength she could get away with it. He didn't want to believe that though, she seemed like a decent human being. She was also a friend of Keiko's; but then again that would explain the weird sense Kuwabara got off of her. He contemplated over it for a little while. "Any reasons as to why," he asked to end the silence.

"Those jerks seemed to think I was a piece of meat," she said pointing in the direction of the students who were now rousing. It was no surprise that they were all boys. What was the problem with guys nowadays, always after every girl they see? Some of them chanced a nervous look in Neko's direction. Most of them looked like they had just been one of the World Wars. All of them stood with difficulty and took off in the other direction.

Neko nodded a head over in Kuwabara's direction, "He called me creepy and evil looking. I was already ticked off so I hit him a couple of times too." Yusuke nodded unsure on how to reply to that. Probably not a good idea to get on her bad side. Though at the moment he wasn't even sure she had a good side. It was apparent then that she could hold her own. As a fighter he wouldn't mind fighting her sometime. A groan was heard to the left of them, moving their attention elsewhere.

Kuwabara remembering where he was started talking, "Urameshi that hurt you know! I should attack you right now..." He clenched his fist in a menacing way, but it didn't bring much fear. "That was a cheap shot and I..."

The bell interrupted his train of thought. The echo of it rang harshly through the now silent hall. Several of the students still in the hall took off towards their classrooms, Kuwabara among them. Yusuke however, stayed where he was having decided he wanted to go home. Neko gave him a glance reading him correctly. "The teachers won't be too happy if you take off." Yusuke shrugged. If she had any qualms about it, she didn't voice them. "See you later then," She turned around and walked slowly in the direction of her first class.

The sun hung dominantly in the sky, fighting to be seen through the clouds. It's efforts in vain as the white cotton moved in to block it from sight. The shadows on the ground changed with the lighting. Buildings towered overhead making it even dimmer in that particular area. Not that it mattered; the lights from the shops were enough to light anything that tried to hide from viewers.

Only one building was dark, having not been open for several years. Yusuke happened to be in that building, Botan accompanying him. After days of nagging he had finally agreed to investigate the youkai activity to get her to shut up.

She frowned at the dark and dingy facade. Dust motes floated lazily in the air making her sneeze. The sound echoed through the empty warehouse and reverberated back to her. The spirited detective gave a half hearted bless you more out of habit. "What are we looking for again?"

Botan looked at him, dismayed that he had already forgot. "Anything out of place. Youkai or not." She had drug him there over fifteen minutes ago telling him that this is where they had last spotted the unidentified youkai. "It's a good possibility this is where he was hiding out. This is the only place he's been spotted." Yusuke somehow doubted that this place could have been inhabited. There was a thin layer of dust on everything; it hadn't been disturbed recently. That implied that no one had been here in a good while.

Large wooden crates were lined against the wall. _Might as well take a look,_ he told himself. Wouldn't hurt to do so. He started at the nearest one; he blew the dust away causing more of it to hang in the air. There was no label on it. Somehow that didn't surprise him. He placed his fingers under the corners of the lid and pulled. The wood creaked loudly in protest, however it gave away when he applied more pressure. Slowly he pulled it off and threw it to the cement floor. The clatter made Botan jump in surprise, she kept herself from shrieking though. Probably a good idea, it would be hard to answer what a boy and a girl were doing in a warehouse alone. Not that they were doing anything, but it wouldn't look that way to unwanted spectators.

It took a few seconds for the dust to settle before Yusuke could get a good look at the interior of the crate. The smell coming from it reminded him of something he couldn't place, kind of musty. All that he found was a bloody sword wrapped up in some equally stained clothes. The blood was old; it was now brownish in color. That sight unnerved him a little, he had more than likely come across evidence to a murder. He started to doubt his own judgement that the place had been untouched. It wasn't old enough to start decaying yet.

Botan looked over his shoulder in order to get a look. "I don't think I like the looks of that. Normally humans don't carry that kind of weapon. It's normally the youkai that do." Yusuke didn't need to be reminded of that. These years swords were used more of a decoration or sport. They were hardly ever used as a tool of killing. "Look at the clothes. You think it's the youkai's blood or someone else's?" Yusuke looked at her, he didn't think Botan would be the sort to be interested in this stuff. He shrugged and held the cloths a good length away from his body. They tumbled down as it unfolded. He flipped it over to look it over.

"I don't think it's his. There aren't any holes where he'd have been hit. Unless he had a head injury I'm guessing it's someone's other than his." She nodded noticing that Yusuke was showing intelligence in his answer. He did have his rare moments when he used brain before fists. She followed him over to the next crate.

Yusuke noticed that this one had less dust than any of the others. It must have been pretty recently packed then. The lid slid off much more easily this time, it had also been packed in a hurry. A putrid smell escaped from this one causing Yusuke to cough and gag. He waved his arm in front of his face several times trying to fan away the odor. He thought the smell had a tinge of familiarity to it. This feeling gave him a cold pit in the bottom of his stomach. He didn't want to look in the crate, but knew he had to anyway. He just hoped he didn't lose his lunch over this.

He walked uneasily to the crate and slowly peered over the side. He jumped back, voice caught in his throat. He drew in several deep breaths, bending down placing his weight on his knees. He was fighting the urge to vomit, having a difficult time with it. He stared at the floor, trying to take the image out of his mind. He wondered if he kept staring like this if he would actually bore holes into the cement.

Botan looked him concerned. "Yusuke?" He lifted a hand and waved it at her. She knew that meant to give him space, so she did. It scared her that whatever was in the crate had caused this type of reaction from Yusuke of all people. Curiosity won over though, and she went to get a look her self. She held her hand over her nose as she picked her way over. Cautiously she looked in to the crate. She took several steps back, a slight feeling of nausea coming over her. "Oh my..." She looked back to Yusuke with a look of terror in her eyes. He also thought he spotted recognition mixed in as well.

He slowly stood back up, some of the sickness leaving him. Enough for him to gain back the ability to speak. "Was that him?" Him being the body they had found. It had been horribly disfigured and awkwardly stuffed into the crate. His arms were bent hellishly twisted around one of his legs. His head had been completely turned around with a look of pure anguish and torment in his wide eyes. One of his legs had been bent around his neck, creating a mortifying imitation of a necklace. A dried brownish substance stained his clothes and was caked on his face. It was enough to scare the hell out of anyone.

It took several moments for Botan to recover. Minutes later she shook her head. "No, that was a human. I'd be willing to bet that the youkai was the cause of it though." She still looked slightly queasy but at least she could talk. "I remember taking him to spirit world. He kept rambling about being stuffed into a crate. I thought he was delirious, a lot of people are when they die. I dismissed his ranting and told him not to worry about it. It's up to the authorities to sort everything out here on Earth. I never thought..." She looked down at the floor the look of fright coming back into focus on her face. She looked back up for a moment. "I didn't think that...I had no idea he was the victim of the youkai. That poor man." Yusuke would have comforted her, but he was unsure how and he was still in stages of shock himself.

Botan suddenly gasped. Yusuke nearly jumped and looked at her. "I nearly forgot. We were able to trace the youkai some places when he used his energy. That's how we found him here, we lost track of him shortly after though. He was traced days later to a place in town. It was several days after his appearance there that we could trace him though. Things run too slow sometimes." She paused for a moment and drew a deep breath. "Yusuke, it was at the restaurant that blew up a couple days ago." Yusuke shot her a look.

"Are you saying that Hiei is the one who did this? I've seen some of the stuff that he can do, but this just isn't his style. And why would he risk being taken back to spirit world?" Botan shook her head informing Yusuke that he had made a false assumption.

"No, we tracked his energy as well. Yusuke if it had been him we would have known. We specifically picked up _two_ energy traces. I was able to keep them from finding out it was Hiei. That took quite a bit of work though. You owe me for helping get him out of trouble. I had to tell Koenma though, he wasn't too happy about that. Luckily he's keeping it from his father." She stopped again letting Yusuke take in everything. He'd have to tell Hiei to be more careful in the future, he had no idea they could track youkai by their energy.

"Yusuke, I think you should talk to Hiei and find out exactly what happened." Yusuke looked at her for a moment; it wasn't hard for him to see that she was holding something back.

"And?" The question had been more of a command.

"Well, a couple other youkai have appeared in the area. We think they may be linked somehow. Maybe they're all part of a group or something." She sighed; she had something else to tell him. "The thing is, they all seem to be close to Kurama's house. Maybe they're after Hiei, if that's the case then he needs to be warned." Yusuke gave a nod of understanding.

"I'll do that as soon as he comes back. He went off to do something tonight. Not sure what though. Maybe he sensed the other youkai, he does have the..." He stopped for a minute. A certain thought bothered him. "I thought youkai couldn't get to the living world. Isn't there a barrier or something?"

Botan nodded. "Every few years or so some youkai are able to make it past the barrier. It troubles me that there are this many though. We've never had this many come from the other side before." Yusuke glanced at her.

"How many? Like five?"

"Twenty," she said quietly. Twenty. That was a lot. That many could cause a lot of destruction and give trouble to Hiei. If that's who they were after, there was a chance they were waiting for Kurama to come back. He would be coming back in three days; the last thing he needed was a welcoming party greeting him with hostility.

Yusuke looked back to the crate. _Poor guy_, he had probably just stumbled upon the youkai's hiding place. _Then killed to keep him quiet._ He pointed in its direction, "What should we do about him. He doesn't deserve to just stay there." Botan nodded in agreement.

"We'll give an anonymous call to the police. You better wipe off everything you touched. Wouldn't do any good for you to get locked up for a crime you didn't commit." Yusuke gave a short nod and looked around for a cloth that would do to wipe away fingerprints.

Neko caught the clock's time out of the corner of her eye. _5:50._ She still had 10 minutes. A shrill phone ring cut through the tranquility, she glanced at the caller I.D. It wasn't someone she knew so she ignored it. The answering machine would pick it up. She pulled a long sleeved shirt over her head and heard the muffled voice of a woman on the machine.

__

"Hello, this is Miss Kaji from Tsuki's school. I'm calling for her parents. I'd like to talk about a fight she's been in recently..." The machine cut her off, her thirty seconds of recording time was up. Neko ignored this and opened up a drawer with a pile of clothes shoved hastily into it. She pulled out a pair of slacks and flipped them once to free them of any dust. She started pulling them on as the phone started ringing again.

This time it was a man's voice that carried through the house to her ears. _"Hello this is Tsuki's principal. I'm trying to contact her parents. This is my fifth attempt to do so..."_ His time was cut short too.

Neko glanced over at the clock that sat on a desk next to her bed. _5:54_. 6 minutes. She fumbled around in a closet and pulled out a pair of boots and quickly slipped them on and tied the laces. She quickly pulled some of her hair into a loose partial ponytail; she left most of it down. She walked over to her desk and grabbed the key that she had thrown there earlier. She gave one last look at the clock before she ran down the stairs. _5:58._ She reached her door, opened it and locked it before shutting it.

She walked down the steps that led to her porch and was startled when a figure jumped off of her roof to join her. She smiled slightly at the sight of Hiei. She was hoping he'd show and that it hadn't been some sort of joke. She noticed he wore the same thing he had on their last encounter. He also had found a replacement bandana.

He had been looking at her as well; there was nothing else to look at anyway. "I take it you like that color," he said indicating her choice of black again.

She gave half a smile, "Everything I own is in this color. It just happens to be my favorite color." Hiei smirked. As long as she didn't go to wearing pink he'd be fine with her. For some reason pink made him want to attack things. He noticed she was not limping, she healed quickly. He was curious about how her arm was, but decided not to ask. He didn't want to make it look like he cared.

"I'm taking you to the boardwalk tonight." She looked at him with a puzzled look. Her eyes turned a slightly lighter shade. He remembered they had darkened the last time he saw her. He would have to memorize what each shade meant.

"Isn't that miles away?" He smirked again; she was a smart girl. He doubted that Yusuke or Kuwabara would have caught on to that as quickly as she had.

"I have my own means of transportation that will get us there quick enough." He relished in the look of utter confusion and curiosity on her face. He took her by the arm; "I'll show you." To hell with who saw him, they'd never figure it out anyway.

Everything became a blur around them and the scenery seemed to melt away. Neko felt the wind whipping around her; similar to when she had been tossed into the air, but more pleasant. Blurs of colors and outlines ran together and she watched in awe at it. She felt a pull on her arm, but that was only because Hiei had a hold of her. This might have scared her had she not witnessed what she did during their last meeting. In fact she was more fascinated more than anything else. She clung to his arm out of instinct rather than fear; she was enjoying every minute of this. Hiei noticed that she was and was glad she hadn't been scared out of her wits. That would have just annoyed him. A scared crying girl was something he was not fond of handling.

Abruptly he stopped, only feet away from their destination. He braced Neko to keep her from falling. He let go of her when he was sure that she could stand on her own. She looked up at him with a smile. A genuine smile. He had never seen her like this before; it was something he had not expected. Her eyes had taken on a bright green and had lost the sadness he had seen in them.

"That was amazing. Maybe I should be scared because of what I've seen you do, but for some reason I'm not." Hiei looked at her unsure what to say. He was still surprised at her smile. He was unsure at why it had gotten to him. He dismissed the thought and glanced at her.

"I suppose it wouldn't do for you to be scared of me. I don't think I'd want to hear any screaming or crying." She looked down at the ground, a slight red tingeing her face. It quickly faded when she looked back up.

She glanced around and saw why Hiei had chose this place. There was a sword display going on. Hundreds of people were milling around the dozens of plywood displays that had been set up. Most of them had a set theme, from medieval to those used in Kendo. A couple of them had a variety of swords set up in no particular order. It was a pretty impressive sight. Set off in a far corner was the displays that sold swords. One man was trying to barter with one of the merchants, but to no avail.

Neko followed Hiei through the crowd wordlessly. She looked around seeing quite a few weapons she wouldn't mind owning. She intended to make a hobby of collecting them. Hiei glanced at her seeing that she was interested in the display. Most girls wouldn't have been even remotely interested. He continued walking with her following and stopped at one of the displays that caught his eye.

The man who owned it gave him a wary look. His face was riddled with wrinkles appropriate for his age. Hiei locked eyes with him for a moment, the old man's were full of long years of learning and wisdom. He stood with a little difficulty and inspected Hiei carefully. Hiei's eyes flicked to the sign above the display. _Spiritual Swords_. He noticed that there were only five. Three of them were wooden, probably purified in a stream. One of them was a black bladed Katana; the last was a plain sword that the old man had more than likely blessed. His attention went back to the old man. He had come to within two feet of him.

"What is someone like you doing in the living world," he kept his voice hushed so that Neko didn't overhear. Hiei wasn't surprised at the man's question. Every once in a while one of the humans figured out what he was. Not very often though, not very many were that spiritually aware. He shrugged at the question.

"I have permission," he said truthfully. The man's eyes held suspicion in them. He looked over to Neko, who knowing better was looking off in the other direction.

"You going to hurt her?" Hiei looked at him with an incredulous look.

"I have no such intentions, is it that hard to believe?" He was becoming irritated and it showed. He didn't really care. Let the old man think what he wanted, as long as he didn't start anything. "She's come of her own free will, you can see that."

The man's eyes eased a bit and his posture relaxed. "Does that mean you two are..." He trailed off at the end, but Hiei didn't need to hear the last word. He knew what it was from the look in his eyes. _Lovers_. He shook his head letting an annoyed glance show. Notions quickly faded from the man's eyes. "Sorry then." His eyes twitched toward his display. "Anything you interested in?"

Hiei had been about to answer when he felt an abrupt trace of energy. He heard a surprised cry from Neko's direction. He turned quickly, but it had already been too late. Where she had been standing was a large hole in the boardwalk. His eyes narrowed, that had been no accident.

Neko had been trying not to listen to the conversation, but despite her efforts she had caught part of it. _"Does that mean that you two are..."_ She felt herself blush, glad that her back was to the both of them. It wasn't too hard to guess what he had been talking about. She looked out at the water trying to focus on someone else. It was calm and peaceful. For now anyway, like her eyes it could turn harsh and cruel. She didn't like how quiet it was though; she couldn't even hear the water lapping at the shore. She had a bad feeling about it.

As if someone had been reading her thoughts, the wood beneath her feet suddenly gave away. A thought of panic screamed out at her telling her to grab at something. Her hands grabbed wildly for a hold of the wood that shouldn't have collapsed, but she couldn't find purchase.

She tried to scream out when a cold chill crawled up her skin. Reason would normally tell her it was just the water and that she could swim, but her mind was too rattled to even think about it. She tried to scream, but instead got a mouthful of an icy salt filled liquid. _Breathe! You have to breathe! **I can't, no air**. Find it!_ **_There is none. _**Yes there is! Find it, find the air! Her mind was too busy screaming at her to notice the dark presence that was overcoming her. Her body started to numb and a blanket of darkness covered her.

__

Wake up! You have to wake up! **Can't, tired. **You have to open your eyes! **Cold. Tired. I can't feel my body. **OPEN YOUR EYES! Instinct kicked in and Neko's eyes snapped open. They were immediately flushed with an arctic burst of more salt water. That caused them to burn to no end.

That didn't bother as much as the fact that she couldn't see. She frantically fought to hear anything, only a roaring in her ears. No light, and the awful sound of a train in her head. She felt as if she was floating, but she couldn't move. Her body screamed at her with pain. The freezing temperatures had numbed her of all but pain.

Her mind reminded her she had no oxygen, she had to move. She tried to move her arms and legs again, only to have them resist and send a burning sensation through her whole body. She tried to scream again and got another gulp of the repulsive liquid. She tried to fight the pain and claw her way to the surface. She might have succeeded if at that moment something didn't grab her leg. She kicked hysterically at it, trying to rid herself of it. It's grip tightened and sent more pain to Neko's brain. Panic over took her as it pulled her deeper. The pressure started to push in on her frail human body. It was starting to make her head hurt, she tried to clutch at it to subside some of the pain, but her arms felt too heavy. The pressure became too much and she let her eyes close again.

Ok...so how was it? I put a lot more action into this chapter than any other one I've done..

Ok...so now who are these demons, what do they want with our heroes, and is Neko going to die? All shall be revealed in the next chapters if you review. So till then.

Power Surge


	5. Fire and Ice

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Bottom of Form

Hey, sorry I haven't posted for a while. Stupid school makes it difficult. I'm gonna try to post at least once a month, but I'm gonna try to post more frequently than that, depends on my homework.

Oy, lets recap shall we- Yusuke went to go investigate a youkai disturbance. He found a dead human body, presumably killed by the youkai. It is then mentioned that several youkai are hanging around Kurama's house where Hiei is staying. The group believes that they may be enemies of his and wait for his arrival to warn him of the danger. Meanwhile, oddly enough Hiei has asked Neko to accompany him to a sword display. When they arrive Neko is attacked and pulled into the water. She was drowning when we last left her.

Ok on with today's show.

Chap 5- Fire and Ice

Neko felt a pounding in her head and she found herself in a world of darkness. She tried to lift her head, but she couldn't find the strength to do so. She listened intently to the silence that enveloped her for any indication of her whereabouts. No such comfort greeted her. She was beginning to feel dizzy again. It reminded of her of the time that she had first tried alcohol. She felt tremors and suddenly was reminded that she was unarmed. She strained her ears for any sound.

Slowly noise came to her ears. She could just barely make the voices out. As she listened she realized she recognized these voices. She remembered them. Voices from the past. Voices she had long tried to forget.

_"Daddy, why does mommy act so strange?"_

_"She's sick."_

_"Why is mommy sick?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"Will I be sick like mommy when I grow up?"_

_"You sure are curious aren't you?"_

_"What does that word mean?"_

_"It means you like to ask questions. Cats are curious too. How bout I call you Neko?"_

_"What's that mean?"_

_"Neko means cat. You even kind of look like one with your black hair and green eyes. From now on, you'll be my little Neko."_

_"Neko, your father's dead."_

_"What does dead mean?"_

_"..."_

_"Mommy, what does it mean?"_

_"It means he's dead you idiot child! He's dead and not ever coming back! It's your fault! It's all your fault he's gone!"_

_"Mommy! Mommy don't leave me alone! I didn't mean to kill daddy! I'm sorry mommy! Come back!"_

A searing pain in Neko's leg brought her back to reality. She blinked her eyes groggily, when she opened them all she saw was a hazy fog. She held her head as it throbbed from the sudden rush of blood. As her vision cleared, she felt a bitterness at the nightmare she had just waken from. Slowly her surroundings came into focus.

She looked up and much to her surprise she found herself in Hiei's arms. He looked down at her in an emotionless state. Neko thought she saw a hint of a smile, but it quickly faded.

"Hnn, So you survived. Impressive for a human. A girl no less." Neko was unsure what to say, and so she let silence loom between the two of them. She lifted herself out of his arms and sat up. She glanced around at the environment around her. The sky above her was a deep crimson and wispy black clouds brought on a forbidding feeling. The sky had given the land an evil looking reddish tint. What appeared to be living trees were scattered in bunches every few feet. They looked as if they were reaching for her.

Neko felt her palm burn and she lifted it, realizing at once that it was the ground that was hot. In fact it felt like it was on fire. Regaining stability, Neko stood and dusted herself off. That was when she noticed her clothes. They were not her own. She now wore a long sleeveless shirt and skirt. She also observed that Hiei's robe was around her shoulders. She looked over at Hiei who seemed to suddenly find the ground interesting.

"And how exactly did I get in these?"

Hiei continued to stare at the ground, looking at some unseen-amusing object. "I had to find you some dry clothes if you survived your little swim in Makai lake. This was the only thing in black I could find." He left it at that.

Neko looked away, blood rushing to her cheeks. If he had dressed her in these clothes, then he had been the one to undress her. She quickly banished the thought from her mind and instead nodded. She turned back to him slowly. He turned to look at her, the same impassive expression on his face. Instead of prying further, she removed the robe from her shoulders and held it out for him to take back. He accepted it without comment. Neko watched as he slipped it back over his head. She looked away suddenly aware she had been staring. Hiei seemed not to notice, or if he did he kept it to himself.

"I don't know who tried to kill you yet." Neko felt her stomach drop. Then she hadn't dreamed it. Someone had tried to drown her, but what confused her was who would even want to. She had a sudden seething anger towards her unknown enemy. What had she done to deserve this? Or maybe they hadn't been after her she thought while watching the apparition standing beside her. It appeared to her as if he didn't even care about such details as he had dropped the subject at that.

She watched as Hiei unhitched something from his belt. He held it out to her. It was the black bladed katana that had been on display. "You may need this." Neko did not speak as she accepted it. The handle had a dragon carved delicately into it; it was wound around the handle as if clutching it. She noted that a small blue gem was clutched in the silver dragon's mouth. The blade was smooth and it shone brightly even with the dim lighting. It also appeared that the blade had just been recently sharpened. Despite the sword's appearance, it was quite light and easy to maneuver with. Hiei watched her admiring the katana, "Do you know how to use it?"

Neko looked up at him with a smile. "I know enough to tell you that the sharp end kills the enemy." Hiei looked at her with a raised eyebrow, unable to decide whether she had been sarcastic or truthful. "So what'd it take to get this from that old guy?"

Hiei shrugged. "Nothing, he practically forced it on me, it was his idea to give you a weapon." Neko glanced away and scanned the horizon. She couldn't think of anything that it reminded her of. She was sure that they were no longer on Earth.

"So where the hell are we?"

"Makai, or if that's too hard for you, the demon world." Neko noted certain bitterness in his voice. She nodded and said nothing more. Hiei started off in what Neko guessed to be a southern direction. She jogged a bit to catch up with him and they continued to walk in silence. Each occasionally glancing at the other as if thinking of something to say. Suddenly Hiei held an arm out to Neko and stopped. To their left Neko saw movement. Hiei's eyes remained transfixed on them. "We are found."

"I figured that." Hiei glanced at her but she had her eyes set on the group of youkai that were moving in their direction. They all appeared to look like the one that had showed at the restaurant, except one. His bluish skin tone was much different than the crimson scales that adorned the others. His silver hair streamed in the dry breeze and he smiled with arrogance at them. His eyes were cold and resembled ice; glassy and translucent. A silver robe made of a liquid like material hung loosely from his shoulders. On it in blue was the symbol of ice. He held a hand up to halt his companions.

Hiei clenched his fists and glared at them. Neko felt her grip tighten on the hilt of the katana and all thoughts cleared from her mind. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She felt an unexplainable rage towards them. It felt like she had met him before. For a fleeting second she felt a surge of panic, remembering her dream about fire and ice. It quickly dissipated and the fury returned. This all felt familiar to her somehow.

The youkai smiled at them, it was apparent that he was their leader; and much smarter. The others lingered behind him, awaiting their orders obviously afraid of him. Neko thought that they resembled cavemen afraid of their prey.

"You must be Hiei," He seemed irritated that Hiei did not react. He soon noticed that there was also a female present. Neko felt uncomfortable as he looked at her in a less than flattering manner. She normally did not even acknowledge this kind of behavior, but somehow with him it was different. She took an involuntary step backwards all eyes watching her. "Ah...I didn't know that you would be here. But I know who you are just the same. You are Miayumi." Neko looked at him with a faint trace of a smile, this guy probably thought that she was an old girlfriend or something.

"Right, you need to be admitted to the loony bin. My name is Neko, I have no clue who Miayumi is, but it sure the hell isn't me." He simply kept on smiling, irritating Neko even more.

"Ah, but that's where you are wrong. You'll find out soon enough. I am Sadiron." Hiei gave him an unconcerned look.

"Why should we care?" Sadiron turned back to him although his eyes kept darting back to a now agitated Neko.

She scowled at this and clenched her teeth. Hiei almost didn't notice this, as he was curious how Sadiron knew who he was. "Where you the one who attacked her," he demanded. Sadiron's smile widened in reply.

"What's it matter to you?" He laughed seeing that Hiei was becoming frustrated. "Mad are we?" Hiei involuntarily gripped the hilt of his katana tightly. Neko seemed just as infuriated and he thought he heard her growling lowly. Course he probably would too if he had someone constantly trying to stare down his shirt. It took him a couple of seconds to realize that he had unknowingly looked as well. He caught himself and looked away quickly. He was relieved that she hadn't seen him, but apparently Sadiron had seen for he sniggered loudly. Neko looked at the two unsure on how to react. Neither side spoke for several minutes, then suddenly, without warning the youkai attacked.

Two of the ogre like creatures attacked Hiei in a primitive manner. One carried a large wooden club, while the other wildly swung a battle-axe. He quickly sidestepped these attacks and grinned as they charged at empty air. The one with the club caught on and ran at him, ready to bring the weapon down over his head. "No, I don't think so." He easily evaded the assault and lodged his katana deep into the youkai's ribs. A sickly thick crimson ooze bubbled from the wound. It smelled just as foul as it looked. Hiei scrunched up his nose, and with a swift flick of the wrist, he removed the katana from the youkai's body. He stepped away as the body crashed to the ground, causing vibrations in the ground.

He abruptly blurred from sight as a battle-axe collided with the ground where he once stood. The youkai was dumbfounded and looked around puzzled; searching for its enemy. It spun around several times before actually spotting the fire apparition behind him. Hiei smirked as his fist connected with the youkai's stomach and it doubled over in pain. It dropped its weapon and clutched at its stomach. Hiei watched with a grin. Suddenly the creature snapped out at him wildly, although he was already far from reach. It retaliated by running at him swinging its apelike arms in an effort to hit him. Hiei smirked and was easily keeping out of its reach.

Suddenly it stopped, having noticed Neko standing off to one side watching. It looked between the two of them, trying to decide which to attack. It chose Neko, and with a surprising amount of speed it jumped at her. Hiei watched, unable to protect her as three more youkai took the opportunity to attack.

Neko watched as the youkai charged her, although she didn't seem to care. Sadiron watched her in a perplexed manner. He found it especially interesting when she closed her eyes, seemingly not paying attention. Hiei was watching too, even more confused than Sadiron. _What the hell does she think she's doing! She's going to get herself killed!_

However, at the last second Neko's eyes snapped open with an unexplainable coldness in them. Hiei barely saw her left the katana and slash at the enemy. Her movements were fluid like and he could see no flaw in her technique. Sadiron lost his grin as the youkai crashed to the ground with a thud. "You really are Miayumi, I didn't believe the master at first, but this proves it. Make no mistake, you will die, again." His playful demeanor had disappeared. It was obvious whoever this Miayumi was; he had much resentment towards her.

Neko looked up at him, for a moment puzzled, but it quickly melted away as another youkai came at her from the right. Surprising even herself, she back flipped out of the way. She brought up the katana and blocked an attack from the rear. The two swords gave off a metallic echo and sparks flew into her face. She ignored the burning sensation and twisted away from the next assault. As soon as she escaped that one, another came at her with what appeared to be a sickle on a chain. Just as it was about to swing at her, she side kicked, and felt its ribs give away. An audible crunch signified it. It fell to the ground, twitching in agony. It made screeching sounds of pain, although she ignored them.

Hiei watched in utter amazement. She had given off the impression that she was merely a weak human, but somehow she was managing to match his own strength. He had only ever seen youkai fight this flawlessly. He didn't think even Urameshi had fought this well on his first encounter with him. And here she was, making Hiei doubt that she could even lift the sword, ruthlessly slaughtering these creatures as if they were wet tissue paper. He was impressed and found that he was admiring that this female could hold her own without his help, although he was not sure that was all he was admiring. He continued to watch with a smile on his face. He didn't even flinch when another youkai bared down upon him. He simply lifted his katana and fended off the attack.

Sadiron gritted his teeth and glared at the black haired girl who stood before him. She slowly looked up and met his gaze. The youkai took a hesitant step back as she watched him with emotionless eyes. He felt fury boiling up within him at the defiant teenager. He quickly regained his arrogance in an effort to intimidate her. She simply stood watching him, his efforts in vain. He motioned for two more of his men, if you could call them that, to strike at her. They looked to him with a show of fear, but as he bared his teeth at them they quickly took haste to carry out his orders. Better to face the enemy than face his wrath, or if they had the brains they would've run.

Neko stood impassive as the first of the two came at her without a weapon. However she knew that without taking action she could die, in a split second she had ducked and heaved her katana upwards into the abdomen of it. Some of its crimson blood trickled onto her face. She pushed the carcass off of the point of the sword and stood. She turned her head as she spit out the blood that had managed to flow into her mouth. Suddenly she heard a thud behind her and she spun around hastily. Hiei stood behind her and another youkai lay at his feet.

He grinned at her, "Getting a little bit sloppy, you missed one." Neko returned the smile and then turned away to search for the last...he had fled. "He used them as a distraction. He's gone now." Hiei motioned to the two that had attacked her. She slowly nodded and then looked down. She blinked several times and then looked up. The coldness was gone and replaced with her usual saddened eyes. Hiei looked away, uncomfortable at seeing her like that. He could not determine why it hurt him to see the pain in her eyes. He had never felt this way about anyone. He brushed the notion away and looked back up, ignoring her gaze. Instead he looked at her outfit which was now stained in blood, as it had been the night when he first met her.

"Red looks good on you know," he said decisively. She glanced at him with a slight smile.

She looked down and nodded. "I suppose it does." Hiei walked slowly to her.

"We're leaving now." This time instead of taking her hand he picked her up in his arms, uncertain of the reason. Neko relaxed in his arms as the colors melted into a blur around them, her human body exhausted.

The busy hum of voices reached Koenma's ears, as it always did in matters of importance. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the jumble of words that were all fighting to reach his thoughts. He felt someone nudge his shoulder, and he looked up to see Botan towering over him. Sometimes he just hated being so short. "What happened this time? It had better be important. I'm about to eat here." He pointed at the large pile of assorted food before him.

She smiled weakly at him. "Well, I think it's worse than we originally thought. Yusuke and I...we found a body." Koenma closed his eyes in thought, then looked back to her ready to hear the rest. "I believe our murderer is probably one of the youkai that have managed to get through the barrier into the human world. The thing is, if we have already found one body...how many others have we not found yet?"

"I hate to say this, but you may be right. We may have a serious problem on our hands." Botan looked dimly at the floor. "I've already been told that they're concentrated mainly around Kurama's house. We may have to tell him not to come back, or to leave his relatives behind for a while. Until we get this situation under control, I'm not risking any lives here."

"That's very wise of you Koenma."

"Yes of course it is. Now that that's over with, now to eat!" Botan hung her head in disgust just as the feeding frenzy began.

"Koenma sir!" Koenma looked up angrily at the one who had interrupted him.

"What is it now? Can't you see I'm eating here?"

"Sorry sir. But this is important. It's just that...well...you see."

"Spit it out!" Ironically, he spit out his own food with that statement.

"Yes sir. Well, it seems that Hiei nor the human he was with are no longer in the human world. They just disappeared." Koenma jumped up, startling Botan.

"Whatdya mean the disappeared! Well don't just stand there! Find them!" He looked back to Botan who had regained composure. "Get Yusuke on this now!"

"Kurama! What the hell are you doing back so early!" The red head replied with a sad smile.

"I sense that something is very wrong here." Yusuke looked at him with confusion.

"Oh yeah. Botan said that Hiei and Neko are missing. But why would that make you come back?" Kurama shook his head, Yusuke watching in frustration.

"I'm afraid it's much more than that. I've already heard about the body you found and the restaurant. I have no doubt that these are somehow related to our friend's disappearance. We're dealing with a formidable adversary. And it appears none of this started happening until Neko arrived." Kurama allowed a moment of silence as the information sunk in. Yusuke turned back to him with a smile.

"Ok, Neko is creepy and all, but I doubt she has anything to do with this at all. She seems like just a normal kid to me. Well all except the fact that she beat the crap out of Kuwabara." Yusuke grinned at the memory of Kuwabara getting beat up by a girl. Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"She fought Kuwabara?" The spirit detective shrugged and looked at him with a blank look.

"What's wrong with that? I kick his butt all the time. He's not all that hard to beat." Kurama sighed and shook his head. He would not attempt the impossible by trying to make him understand. They were getting closer to Kurama's house; both noticed that only one room was lit. They approached the door and Kurama tried the knob. It was unlocked. He stepped inside and flicked on the light. He walked silently to the only other lit room, Yusuke in tow.

As he entered he noticed a familiar figure sitting on the window ledge.

"Hiei!" The fire apparition gave a sideways glance at Yusuke. "We thought you were gone. You and Neko. What happened...wait. What's wrong?" Indeed, the youkai had seemed to be deep in thought and was not showing much reaction to anything. He looked slightly angry and if Yusuke hadn't known better he would have thought that he was depressed.

"Uh...Yusuke, perhaps now is not the time." Yusuke turned as Kurama placed a hand on his shoulder. Yusuke nodded, understanding.

"I guess I should be getting home then. Oh crap! I forgot Keiko wanted to go out again. She's not gonna forgive me this time." Both Kurama and Hiei watched as the teenage boy danced around anxiously trying to think of an excuse. "I know! I'll make up for it. I'll take her out some other time, and actually go this time..."

Kurama watched with an open mouth. "Actually go? That was uh intelligent."

"For him that's brilliance," Hiei continued to watch the boy as his smile faded. _Don't tell me he actually got that._

"She's gonna want to bring Neko along again. I'm doomed, she's gonna kill me, now wha..." Yusuke lifted his head, perhaps with an idea. "Kurama, what do you think?"

He simply stood there. "Uhhhhh..."

"No that's plan B. Please? Just this once." Kurama was uncertain whether or not to take pity on him or be annoyed that he was being put through this again.

"I'll go." The room fell silent as the other two turned to gape at Hiei. They slowly turned back to each other.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" Kurama nodded. _Something important must have happened between those two._

Ok that was kind of a short chappie. I promise I will write some more soon.

You guys know the drill. Read and review or no more story. And you guys are gonna kill me. I'm gonna kill one of our characters, but that's a long way off. And no it's none of the main characters, and when it does happen, nobody correct me on the history of the show or the manga...blah blah blah, I already know what happens in them. Remember this is my story, and besides, a surprise twist shall happen before the end.

And no it's not Neko, b/c she has to come back in the sequel. Oops, I think I'll let that one slide.

Ok now review!


	6. Peaceful Chaos

Ok ok, it's been a while since I've written. I sorry. Had a lot of stuff at school. Now that it's finally spring break I'm hoping to get a lot of writing done.

So ummm recap. Hiei and Neko were thrown into the demon world, got attacked, and came back. Kurama has also returned sensing trouble. Yusuke forgot to take Keiko on a date again. Big surprise huh. Anywho he's convinced that she would want to bring Neko along again. Oddly enough Hiei has agreed to go again. That is if trouble doesn't show itself first.

Chap 6- Peaceful Chaos

Neko awoke to a pounding in her head. A pounding that was intensifying as she opened her eyes. She had slept for almost two days. She groaned in protest to the bright sun filtering in through her window. That and the annoying sound of birds that wasn't helping matters. She'd kill for a bottle of pain relievers. Slowly she sat up, holding her head. Her whole body seemed to ache, both inside and out. She was exhausted from Friday's events, both mentally **and** physically. It made no sense though, fighting, even if they were youkai, should not have drained her **this** much. Of course there was a blank moment in her memory from that. She remembered the youkai lunging at her and...**something** had taken over. That was the only way she could describe it. Something very powerful that she wasn't likely to understand. At least, not yet. Those moments were a blur to her. She knew she had defeated her attackers, but the details of how were a mystery to her. Almost like amnesia.

She blinked her eyes a couple of times and spotted something on her dresser. The black bladed katana was still there, where Hiei had set it. This confirmed that the youkai couldn't have been a dream. She couldn't remember much of what had happened after he had picked her up and brought her back to the human world either. She did remember though that she had fallen asleep in his arms, she had felt so safe. She had never felt safe around anyone before, except for maybe her father. But that was a long time ago, and memories of him had long since faded and only tormented her in her dreams.

Somehow being held in his arms put her at ease and gave her a sense of security that she never had. He had brought her to her home and laid her down on her bed. Neko had thought that she had felt him brush her hair away from her face before he left, but she might have also dreamed it. At this time it had no relevance to her, she was late for school.

Shakily, she forced herself to stand and locate clean clothes. It took her all of five minutes to finish getting ready and then she was running out the door, ignoring the pain that pulsed with every footstep.

Yusuke stood outside his school as usual. The day was a morbid one. Grey clouds hid the warm rays of the sun. The ground was still wet with the morning's dew. The dark clouds threatened to pour out water on to the inhabitants of Earth, but the shower had not started yet. The air had a different feel to it than normal. Everything had since he had found the body. That poor man. He felt a chill go up his spine as the man's face of frozen horror filled his thoughts. Youkai being in the human world was bad enough, but when they were bold enough to be killing humans and risk being caught; something big was going down. He ignored the looks that passing adults gave him. He yawned, _Keiko's gonna kill me. Never mind that I'm skipping school, I still have to come up with an excuse for skipping another date._ That was about the time he noticed a figure running towards him. A figure clad in black that had her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She halted in front of him and raised an eyebrow.

"No school for you today?" Yusuke grinned and shook his head. "Figures." She rolled her eyes and started to walk past him, she was stopped when he grabbed her arm and held her in place. She turned to look at him, curiosity and anger flashing in her emerald eyes. Yusuke resisted the urge to shudder. _Damnit, it's like she can read my thoughts. Jeez, her eyes are scary._

"So, what happened Friday?" Neko smiled. At least he thought she smiled, it was just like Hiei. He couldn't tell if they were smiling or growling at him. And there she was looking at him again with those emerald eyes. Just like she was peering through him or into his soul. _Maybe she really is the youkai. Kurama did say none of the youkai activity started until she arrived._ Yusuke didn't want to believe that a girl was the youkai, but he had fought female youkai before. He would fight one again if the situation called for it. Yet she was just a little different from every other youkai he had encountered, she acted more human...like Kurama. _Maybe she's a youkai living in a human's body just like Kurama..._

"**Yusuke**!!" Yusuke looked back up to Neko startled. "Are you okay? You kind of zoned out there." _Human **like** that. She showed concern. She can't possibly be the youkai that I'm after. It's all just coincidence. _He nodded and laughed it off. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, if you say so."

"Neko, why did you move here," Yusuke blurted out. Neko looked at him for a moment startled at the question. She glanced at the ground.

I **had** to move here. **He** made me move... "I moved here with my family," she said quickly. Yusuke looked at her uncertainly. This was the first time she had ever mentioned her family. In fact, he didn't think she had ever talked about living with _anyone_ else. She hadn't even talked about herself at all since he had met her. Nothing, not her parent's names, whether or not she had siblings, why she went by Neko..._nothing_. It was like she was hiding something from them all. Something dark that she didn't want to be dug up. Something tragic that had happened to make her who she was today. She reminded him of Hiei, except for the female part. _Hiei._ That brought him back to what he had asked earlier. She had not said anything about why they had disappeared Friday from the face of the Earth. He forgot about Neko's life for the moment.

"**What** happened to you and Hiei Friday," he asked in a serious tone. Neko's eyes darkened. For a moment she looked out at the street, and then back to Yusuke. _Kurama was right, something really serious went down. She's afraid to tell me._

"I was attacked," Neko said truthfully. She lowered her head. _And I can't remember what happened after they found us..._ "Yusuke...have you ever...lost memory of something that has happened...and it feels like _someone_ else...is controlling you?" The spirit detective looked at her taken aback. The look in her eyes scared him. She was dead serious. Whatever had happened to her with Hiei had been enough to make her frightened. This wasn't right. If something had been enough to bother her like that..._controlled? By someone else...and she doesn't **remember**. Maybe she's possessed by a youkai or something. That would explain it...but even I can sense that she has strong spiritual protection. She wouldn't have let that happen without a fight._

"I've never had that happen...or at least I don't think so." Neko relaxed a bit.

"Then forget that I said anything about it." Yusuke nodded, some things were better left alone. When she was ready to talk about it, she would. She smiled as if to help ease the silence...it might have worked had it been a true one. Her smiles were always so _hollow_. There was no emotion behind it. It was like she forgot how to be happy long ago. Again she reminded him of the fire apparition. _Hiei, what happened to you two? What happened that would make her so scared... and you so..._

The date, he had forgotten all about it. Hiei had agreed to go again. _Why was he so eager to come this time? As soon as I mentioned Neko he jumped tight into it...like he wanted to **protect** her._ Yusuke hesitated...should he ask Neko to go with them again? If he didn't Hiei would probably kill him, he had volunteered to go. If he told him that it had been called off, he wouldn't be too happy with him. Neko figured that the conversation was over, so she turned toward the school building. "Ummm... Neko," She turned back to him a bit agitated. "Keiko, she wants to go on a date again. You're welcome to come with us." She looked at him blankly.

"**_Another_** one?" Yusuke laughed nervously. Neko grinned with a little sincerity behind it. "Making up for the ten that you missed huh?" She shook her head. "You better make it good, Keiko takes her anger out on me when you ditch her you know." She glanced away at a bird that was singing softly in a tree a few feet from them. "As for me, I don't know if I can take another night of that."

"Hiei will be there." That had done it. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she wasn't going to refuse.

"Will he?" Yusuke did not bother to respond. "Kuwabara isn't coming is he?"

"If he goes I'll shoot myself, how bout that?" Neko closed her eyes.

"Alright."

"Koenma..."

"Kurama...you're back before expected." The redheaded youth bowed slightly. He looked back up. Urgency and intensity filled his eyes. He understood just how dangerous the present situation was.

"Yes, I left as soon as I could get away. I believe that Hiei is in grave danger..." Koenma closed his eyes and sighed. So they were after Hiei and not Kurama. He had no doubt that the fox youkai knew of Hiei's disappearance, and the human girl's. He had wisely left his family behind. Yet he was holding something back.

"That is not all that is on your mind is it?" He shook his head in affirmation.

"I believe the girl Tsuki is **_also_** in trouble." Koenma's eyes snapped open. _Why would they be targeting a human?_

"It was _not_ Hiei they first attacked yesterday. It was her they were after. She was lucky enough to be in Hiei's company." _What is it that they could possibly want from a human? Hiei would tell me nothing more than the fact that she was attacked first._

"Indeed she was. But this presents quite a bit of a problem." He crossed his arms. "The youkai that attacked them..._traveled_ between Makai and the human world. Somehow they have found a way _around_ the barrier. And there is far more youkai on Earth then there has _ever_ been." Kurama nodded. He _already_ knew this. It troubled him as well. It was normal for maybe one or two to pass the barrier every couple of years. But for _twenty_ youkai to pass the barrier, and with their strength, that was far more than abnormal. "I'm not sure how they were able to do this...but I'm sure it's _only_ the twenty that can." He paused for a moment, debating on whether or not to reveal the last bit of knowledge that he had. Kurama's eyes were enough to urge him to do so. "Somehow, Hiei was able to pass between the realms as well. He shouldn't have been able to unless he was granted permission. Whoever attacked them _wanted_ Hiei and Tsuki to enter Makai."

Kurama looked at him confused. "But...if they've _already_ risked being seen in the human world, why take them to Makai?" He watched as Koenma shook his head sullenly.

"I've no idea. It will be revealed to us later I'm sure; but for now we need to keep a close watch on them. A _very_ close watch." Koenma looked up to Kurama almost apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I must ask you to also watch Tsuki. If they are after her, watching her may give us some answers."

"I agree."

"You can come out, I know you're there. After all, this _is_ your home."

"Of course. I forget that I cannot hide from you. You _are_ a telepath." Hiei watched as Kurama stepped into view. He had been aware of his presence since he had started standing there watching him. _Fox, I know you're watching me in hopes of getting information. But even I don't know why they are after me...or her. I don't know why they tried to kill a human girl... Although she is abnormally strong spiritually and physically for a human. The way she handled the sword, it was as if she wasn't herself. She used the sword expertly, like she has had years of training; but yet she's so young. How did she learn to fight like that in such a short amount of time?_

"You saw Koenma," he said shortly. Kurama did not need to respond. "So am I under surveillance?" Kurama shook his head.

"No...but you should be wary. These are not normal youkai at all. They can travel between Makai and the human world." He narrowed his eyes as Hiei scoffed. "Hiei, this is no laughing matter. First they attacked a man that Yusuke found, then the restaurant, and now Tsuki..." Hiei at last turned to face him. With slight amusement he took in the panicked state that the fox youkai was in. He smiled and closed his eyes.

"It's true. They _have_ attacked humans, but I took them down easily." _With a little help from her._ "They ran off like cowards, with their tails between their legs. It was like picking off flies." His eyes opened as Kurama took a step towards him. "They are no threat to me."

Kurama shook his head, his flaming hair flowing about his face. "But what about Tsu_k_i? She's only human and..." The fire apparition held up a hand to stop him.

"The _last_ person we need to worry about is _her_. She can take care of herself." He grinned at the confused look on the youth's face. It lasted for a second and then he became serious. "She fought just as well as any of us. She had a katana that day. I doubt that she had even handled one in her life...but she took down several youkai in mere seconds." _And **ruthlessly** as well. She had no emotions showing on her face at all. She was a cold-blooded **murderer** those few minutes. And **all** of her thoughts stopped during that time. As if she was not truly what she appears to be. _"She is in no real danger. I'll be leaving now." He leapt out the open window into the world of night.

"Hiei _wait_!" Kurama ran to the window, unable to catch the fire apparition before he disappeared. He sighed and rested against the sill. _Hiei, what **is** it that you're holding back? You witnessed something that you're withholding from us. What is it about the girl that has even **you** disturbed? _He hung his head in thought, unaware of how the full moon illuminated the landscape, creating an eerie glow that would give even the bravest man doubts about leaving his home this night.

The moon. It looks different tonight. It looks evil. Neko tore herself from her window. _Tsuki. It means moon. **My** name means moon. So why is it that I hate it so much? Why do I despise the moon so much?_ She sighed and stretched, listening as her bones made a sickening cracking noise. "That's better." She was exhausted from today. She had gotten the urge to do some running, in hopes that it might help to clear her mind. _Why can't I remember what happened? Why was it like someone else was controlling me? Like I was a puppet and **someone**, or **something **was moving the strings...Was it **Miayumi**? Wasn't that what Sadiron had called her? **Miayumi**. He thought that's who I was. Is it possible that I'm **not** the one in control of myself?_

"Tsuki are you listening to me?" Neko narrowed her eyes. She hated being interrupted while she was concentrating. _And _she hated when people intruded her home. But more than that, she _hated_ when people called her Tsuki.

She turned towards the source of the voice, her eyes flashing violently. Slowly, she gave her visitor the once over. It was a man of about 35. His sandy hair was pulled back in a short ponytail as always and he was wearing his usual ensemble. Black everything. Black T-shirt and black jeans. He had left his shoes on the mat by Neko's door. His sapphire eyes looked down at Neko with great concern.

Neko allowed herself to relax a bit, and her grip released from the knife that was clipped to her belt, hidden by her shirt. "How many times have I told you to call me Neko, _old man._"

"And I keep telling you to call me Akashi, but you never do." He smiled at her, this had been the greeting between the two for years. Neko was barely able to return it with a grin of her own, her mind was still elsewhere.

"So why have you broken into my house _old_ man?"

"First of all...the door was _unlocked._ Secondly I'm not _that_ old." That was when the playing around stopped. The warm look in his eyes hardened and for the first time that evening, he became stern with her. "You were missing yesterday." Neko looked up at him, she in turn taking on a solemn demeanor. "I _almost_ informed the authorities, but you suddenly _reappeared_ this morning at school." He sat down next to her, becoming eye level. "Care to explain?"

Neko looked away for a moment. _What exactly am I to tell him? I can't tell him what **really** happened. He'd never believe me._ "I was out with a friend. We got in a little late. What's so wrong with that?" He raised an eyebrow at her. She resisted the urge to give it away to him. He had been the only one who had ever scared her like that, of course he was the only one who had any jurisdiction on her.

"_What's_ wrong is that no one knew where you were or who you were with." Akashi's eyes remained full of concern for her, for a split second Neko thought that he was about to cry. It quickly dissipated though. "You are in my care, you are supposed to inform me of any _adventures_ such as the one you pulled last night." She looked down at the floor, concentrating all of her interest on it, yet still hearing every word. _I know damn well I'm supposed to inform you old man. Just...things didn't go quite as planned._ "Do you know how worried I was? I was afraid that someone had gotten a hold of you, you're not _invincible_ Tsuki." Neko cringed as the words sank in. _Damnit I **know**! You have no idea what I went through though. If I thought you would understand I'd tell you everything. _"Don't forget that it's because of me that you're still living." Neko abruptly stood, her eyes stinging from holding back tears.

"I _haven't_ forgotten. What happened yesterday _was_ a mistake; _I_ can't change that. But you didn't have to bring _that_ up." She stood there, her fists clenched and her body shaking with frustration. She was restraining herself from attacking him, and Akashi saw it. He had gone _too_ far.

He bowed his head to her, some of his sandy hair falling loose of the ponytail into his face. He looked back up to her, "I'm sorry. I tend to forget that you do not need to be reminded of your situation." Neko turned away from him and shrugged her shoulders. It was her way of showing she had _accepted_ the apology. "One last thing." She withdrew her attention from the window and faced him.

"And that is?"

He grinned at her warily. "Why was there a weapon in your bedroom?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You were in my bedroom?" He nodded as if it had been no big deal. "And _why_ were you in my bedroom?" He chuckled at her.

"I have full permission to be in any room of this house. Remember, _I'm_ the one leasing the house for you." She sighed in acknowledgement. "And don't forget that I'm your guardian."

"Yeah, yeah.." _Ok, how exactly do I explain this one? _Akashi watched her cautiously. _Ok, he's going to want an answer pretty soon. _She lifted her head after a moment, grinning. "It was a gift," she told him. _Ok, he can't complain about that, after all it **is** the truth._

"A gift?" He shook his head silently. "What's with kids nowadays? Giving out swords as gifts. Why can't they give out flowers or something?" Neko shrugged at him. "Alright, but you promise me that you're not using it. It's not to be unsheathed."

"I won't use it," she told him honestly. _It's not like I have any reason to. **Unless...** but I doubt that they'd try coming after us again. I'm pretty sure they were only after Hiei. At least, I **hope** so._

"Alright. I believe you." Akashi turned from her. "I'll be leaving now. _You_ need to get some rest." Neko watched as he silently exited the room, listening as the door closed behind him.

Jeez, I thought that he'd never leave. **"Don't forget that it's because of me that you're still living." **She let out an exasperated sigh and sunk down into her chair. _I know I wouldn't still be here if it wasn't for him. And I **am** thankful, **more** than he realizes. **But**, he didn't have to remind me. He knows how hard it is for me to think about it. He of all people knows and understands why I'm like this now. _She pulled her knees up close to her and hugged them to her chest. _Akashi was the one who rescued me from...**her. **He's just being protective, but I wish he didn't try to pry so much into my life. There are things that not even he can know about. _She glanced at the watch that was on her wrist. It was late.

She stood and gave one last look at the shadows that distorted everything during the night hours. At the moment, the moon was hidden behind a blackish-gray cloud, which created a spine chilling mood and uneasiness. She could have stared for hours, mesmerized by its ghostlike beauty, but instead she tore herself from the window and walked away. She listened to her own footsteps as she sauntered down the hall. She stopped outside one door and opened it. She flicked on the light switch and closed the door behind her. She locked it quickly out of habit.

She looked up into the mirror and observed her reflection. There were dark patches underneath her eyes. Two deep pools of emerald blinked impassively back at her. _Miayumi are you in there? _She laughed at herself. "That was stupid. Of course no one else is in there. I control myself. No questions asked." Even to her the words sounded hollow, but at least they gave some comfort. She at last turned to turn on the tap to her bath. Crystal clear water spilled forth and began to fill the tub slowly. Neko began to pull her shirt off and she threw it to the floor carelessly. In a few moments her pants were laid next to the rest of her clothes. She looked back into the mirror, examining the scar that ran down her back. It was a very old scar, it had long since turned a ghostly white. It crept up her back up to her right shoulder blade. It was a neat, straight line. Her only reminder of her life on the streets.

Gradually Neko felt the warmth of steam from her bath water, and little by little her reflection fogged over. She turned off the tap and removed the band that held her hair up. It fell down, rushing down to her waist and gently brushing her skin. She climbed into her bath and relaxed as the hot water soothed her aching muscles. Closing her eyes, she sighed deeply and let all thoughts leave her mind.

Nearly a week had passed without any further youkai activity. Kurama took in his surroundings. Yusuke had told him that he was going to be meeting Keiko and Neko at the park again. Kurama had conveniently neglected to mention that he was watching Neko, and had found himself a spot where he could view the whole park without being noticed. Actually he was perched in a tree, despite the fact that the tree branch was uncomfortable to sit on, it was an excellent hiding spot. Well if someone didn't mind watching the birds to make sure they didn't use him as target practice.

It seemed that Hiei had been the first one to arrive again. Kurama had squirmed every time he glanced in his direction. He knew that the fire apparition would detect his presence, but he didn't have to make it so obvious. He also wondered why Hiei had shown up two hours early. As long as he had known him, Hiei had normally been late. Was he actually looking forward to seeing Neko again, or was he just keeping an eye out for any further signs of danger? _What's this? Neko is early too?_ Sure enough he watched as the teenager approached Hiei.

"Remind me again why we're here." Hiei looked up at her with a smirk. He gave her the once over as normal. She had selected a black ensemble again. He was beginning to really like that color on her. Especially since her outfits always nicely showed off her figure. He had to admit she was alright for a human. "Oh wait, I know the answer, because Yusuke can't go on a date without supervision."

"Perhaps he's afraid that his girlfriend will beat him up if we're not around." Neko chuckled. The youkai noticed that her eyes were bright today. They seemed to be bright whenever she was happy. He made her happy? He watched as she slid to the ground to sit next to him. He was still standing looking down on her. Her hair was shining where the sun touched it. It was hard to believe that this peaceful looking girl had days ago been a ruthless killer. He heard her sigh as she closed her eyes and leaned against the trunk of the tree. A shadow played over her face as clouds passed in front of the rays of the sun. She seemed oblivious to it all. And her stood there just mesmerized by her, the fact that this girl seemed to be hiding from the world in this false facade. He could tell by merely looking in her eyes that she held years of emotional pain...pain that she hid so very well. She hid her true feelings and intentions expertly, she had probably done so for years. It surprised him that he hadn't simply read her mind. This had been the first being that he didn't want to. He wanted to be surprised by her actions, for them to be unexpected. So she could be as unpredictable to him as he was to her. This brought an uncomfortable feeling to the pit of his stomach. He was having human like emotions and he wasn't liking it very much. Maybe it was the fact that he had already felt like he had befriended enough humans. Yusuke, and yes even that baka Kuwabara was enough for him.

Kurama sat watching them, puzzled. The two looked like they had been friends for life, or perhaps lovers. _Hiei, is that why you tolerate her? Do you have a crush?_ The kitsune grinned at that notion. _Perhaps you will finally understand what it is like to love a human. Not in the same way that I love my human mother, but love, no matter in what form, makes the strongest of us weak. _He stiffened as Hiei glanced again in his direction. He couldn't be sure if he had just heard everything that he had just thought. Maybe he hadn't, if he did, he would be hearing of it later. Sitting there watching the two of them, he wouldn't have thought that the two were a target of some enemy. _And who could our mysterious enemy be? Hiei has amounted plenty of adversaries over the years, but as far as I know Tsuki is just human. Why would someone be targeting her?_

Several minutes passed until Yusuke and Keiko finally arrived. Kurama noted with amusement that Hiei and Neko seemed agitated that their silence had been disturbed. They really were alike.

"How long have you two been here," Yusuke asked nervously looking between the two. Neko answered with a slight shrug.

"Long enough," Hiei said, announcing what Neko had thought. She glanced at him with a slightly raised eyebrow. The spirit detective laughed uncertainly, not sure if that had been one of Hiei's usual snide remarks or a complaint.

"Then we should get going," Keiko suggested, her brown hair bobbing as she turned to leave. Yet the other three remained stationary, suddenly looking very tense. She turned back to them with concern. "You guys, what's wro-." Abruptly Yusuke held up a hand to cut her off.

"Shh." Yusuke felt an eerie feeling prickling at the back of his neck. Something was about to happen, something he didn't want Keiko to be around for. "Keiko, I think it's time you left," he said quietly. She narrowed her eyes at him, but saw the urgency in his eyes. She slowly looked at all of them. Something was very wrong here.

And that's that. Jeez finally get time to work on the story and people won't leave me alone...took me forever just to write this one chapter. Anywho I'll try and post again soon, but not sure how soon it will be considering the new job and all.

Well till again

Power surge


	7. Confrontation

HOWDY NEIGHBOR!! I am liking the reviews I have been getting. Sorry it has taken me a little while to post...not as long as usual though. Thanks to my loyal fans. You all have noticed my style of writing and my skills have changed since I started this fic. It is evident to me in the reviews I have been getting since then, and thanks to all of you who are still with me even after a whole year.

Although one review that I received, I think one of you took one of the chapters a little too seriously. To that reader...I myself am an American and yes we do make good movies, but however I am writing this from their viewpoint. Yusuke isn't going to like a sappy movie such as Titanic...and of course he isn't really going to be interested in American movies. Realize that most of the character in this fic are not very emotional and are not really going to enjoy a depressing movie like that. So that being said, don't be so offended by things you may read in this fic, they are the character's opinions, not my own.

Anyway recap- the gang had a peaceful day to recover...until Yusuke, Keiko, Hiei, and Neko met up. Also Kurama has been ordered by Koenma to watch Neko in hopes of gaining more knowledge on the youkai that are after her and Hiei. When we last left our heroes, they had felt a powerful aura heading their way.

Flames of Deceit- Chapter 7- Confrontation

"Keiko I said get the hell out of here." Yusuke made a move to push her in the other direction, however she turned to him with a serious look in her eyes that made him stop.

"I'm leaving, but promise me you'll be careful." Yusuke looked at her in awe. _She's really worried about me._ The urgency to remove her from danger was the overruling feeling however.

He nodded at her. "Look, I promise but get the hell out of here now." Suddenly Keiko launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around him. Caught of guard, Yusuke fought to keep his balance and then returned the embrace, holding her tightly to his chest. Just as he started to pull away from her, Keiko pressed her lips against his, and without another word she turned and walked away. Yusuke watched in astonishment as her figure retreated from the park.

Slowly, he turned back to Hiei and Neko, who seemed to not have noticed what had just taken place. They were both intent on following the movements of Kurama, who had just jumped down from his perch in the tree. He was quickly making his way towards them.

"I don't have to ask _you_ if you can feel that _fox_, so tell me what do _you_ think of it?" Neko turned to look at Hiei. She had no idea that the two knew each other. Although that would give a meaning as to the reason why he had been hidden from view watching the two the whole entire time they had been there. At first she wasn't sure if he had been there by coincidence but the fact that Hiei had talked to him like a friend had given her a different idea. She still wasn't sure if she should have been angry that she had been watched like that, but at the time it didn't matter because they could use all the allies they could get. The demonic aura they had all sensed was not only getting closer, but stronger as well.

Kurama had shook his head. "I cannot say what I think because I know _nothing_ of its origin, except that it is _definitely_ powerful and malevolent in nature." Hiei nodded in agreement.

"So let's just kick its ass." Neko glanced over at Yusuke with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"While I agree with the violent part, that doesn't answer why the hell it's attacking us." Yusuke shrugged. She sighed and shook her head. "You truly are an idiot." Kurama chuckled.

"You all are such a pleasant group of people." They all turned to look at him with puzzled looks.

"Tell me something I don't know, like who the hell these people are that are after me."

"I'm afraid I have no information to offer you. However these are not people at all, they are _youkai_."

"Kurama, should you be telling _her_ that?"

"Yusuke, they are apparently after _her_, and if she's in this deep she may as well know what is tracking her down." Neko looked in between the two.

"Youkai...as in _demons_? Monsters that _aren't_ supposed to exist?"

"That is a way of putting it."

"Those monsters that aren't supposed to exist...Kurama and _myself_ are those monsters." A silence fell over the group. Yusuke felt a tension fall over Kurama and Hiei. He couldn't tell how Neko had taken it, because as always she was hiding all emotions.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, allowing it to calm her. When she opened her eyes she looked directly into Hiei's eyes, for a moment making him uncomfortable. The look that he saw in her eyes was not fear or anger as he expected, but something he was not sure he had ever seen before. For a moment he wished that he could stare into her ocean like eyes forever. In those few seconds he was completely unaware of his surroundings. Some new wave of emotion had taken over him that he could not identify. He found it disturbing and yet enjoyed it at the same time. He quickly pushed it aside before his companions noticed a change in him.

"You two may be youkai, but monsters is not something _either_ of you are." He looked at her confused. _She doesn't care what I am. Why is it that I'm relieved that she isn't afraid of me?_

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

"If you're talking about the night at the restaurant, you weren't a monster _then_ either. Monsters don't _save_ people who are in danger."

"I think she has you there Hiei," he growled at Yusuke in reply.

"They're close," Neko announced. Again an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

"This isn't fair. If I can't see my enemy, how do I know what I'm fighting?" The other three turned to the spirit detective.

"I'm pretty sure you'll see them when they actually get here." Yusuke toed at the ground, obviously not sure if that had been a joke or not. Neko grinned at this. _Not much on brains._

"Ok, since that's been discussed, I just want to know what they're really after. I know that they have attacked Hiei and myself twice. But _why_ are they after us? I can see them holding a grudge against a youkai, but why a _human_?" Kurama shrugged at her. "That's really not much help you know."

"I agree it is unusual for them to be after you, but they might not even have a good reason to attack you."

Neko looked at the redhead in confusion. "What is that _supposed_ to mean?"

"Well, if these youkai aren't very intelligent then they may just be attacking you because you were with Hiei the _first_ time they attacked." Neko nodded in acknowledgement.

"Right...but I have a feeling they are much more intelligent than that. At least the one who is behind this all." She paused for a moment, searching for words. "The ones that we fought were pretty dumb, but there was _another_ youkai with them who called himself _Sadiron_. He seemed pretty smart to me. _Although_ I'm sure he's not the one in charge, he's getting orders from _someone_ else." She neglected to mention the fact that Sadiron had thought that she was someone else. _Miayumi what did you do to piss these guys off?_

Kurama closed his eyes in thought. "Then I have no idea what possible reason they could have."

Hiei glanced at Neko, he had noticed she didn't tell Kurama about Sadiron mistaking her for some other woman. Nor had she mentioned her little blackout. Of course he probably wouldn't have said anything about it either. "I do not see how these youkai could have a grudge against me. I have never seen nor heard of them."

"Maybe it's not you two who they're mad at. Maybe it was someone who knew you guys and they're just trying to get back at them by attacking you two."

"I think the detective just had an intelligent moment, perhaps we should give him a round of applause and a prize." Neko resisted the urge to smirk at Hiei's comment, although she had almost said something similar.

"Watch it shorty, remember who kicked who's ass when we first met." Hiei's eyes narrowed.

"We could have a rematch, this time there is no _mirror_ to help you." Kurama rolled his eyes.

"I think it would be best to focus on the situation at hand." Yusuke crossed his arms. "Now he _does_ have a point, it is possible you just simply know the wrong people."

"Who the hell could we possibly know that would piss those guys off. Aside from you three, Keiko, Kuwabara, and Yukina, I know one other person." Hiei raised an eyebrow. She only knows one other person? The other two must have missed the significance of the last part, because they were already discussing people that the fire apparition knew. Neko suddenly stiffened. "I don't think _now_ is the time to discuss that."

"_Indeed_, it seems we have company." Neko clenched her teeth at Kurama's obvious statement.

"It's Sadiron. _Funny_, he's not the presence I felt. The other one was _much_ more powerful." Yusuke started to laugh.

"Oh come on. I may not be as good at spiritual awareness as Kuwabara is, but I can even tell that this twerp is nothing." Kurama nodded.

"I must admit I was expecting more of a challenge."

"Who cares, I just want to kill something." Neko turned to Hiei with a slight smile.

"Now if we kill him first and then ask questions, I don't think that he'll talk much." Kurama looked between the two and noticed that Neko's fists were clenched. "However, I have a lot of frustration that I wouldn't mind taking out on his _face_."

"Now _now_ Miayumi, such talk is not appropriate of a young woman." Neko slowly turned to him, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"I thought I told you that my name is _Neko_, and that I've never heard of _anyone_ named Miayumi." He laughed mockingly at her.

"You realize it is no use trying to hide from us, don't you _Miayumi_?" Kurama turned to the girl beside him.

"What the hell are you talking about!" Yusuke took a step back, it was quite evident that Neko was very pissed. He didn't think that Sadiron laughing at her was helping anything either. "What do you not get about the fact _that_ my name is _Neko_?"

"It's no use trying to explain that to him, I doubt his mind could comprehend it."

"Uh, what's going on?" The three of them turned to the spirit detective.

"Well, it's very easy. That youkai is our enemy, and we're going to _kill_ him."

"Thanks Hiei for such a detailed description." Hiei glared at Kurama. _You're welcome fox._

"Right, so why haven't we attacked him yet?"

"Good question," Neko answered. "_Why_ the hell haven't we?"

"Because I have a _proposition_," Sadiron replied for them. Neko narrowed her eyes. She wanted to do nothing more than bash him in the face as hard as she could. Suddenly she wished she had brought her katana. Then she could have stabbed him in the stomach. The image of Sadiron's mangled body brought a smile to her lips.

"Give me the fire apparition _and_ the girl," he had directed the request at Kurama and Yusuke. They turned to each other and the spirit detective began to chuckle.

"You're kidding right? You really think that we're going to _just_ hand them over like _idiots_?" There was no amusement on Sadiron's face. However Yusuke seemed to find it entertaining.

The youkai frowned at them. "You hand them over and there will be no _fighting_ here today."

"With all due respect, you would be _wrong_ on that assumption. You see, I'm _pretty_ sure that they would _both_ fight us in _resistance_." Silence followed the fox demon's statement. There seemed to be a lot of silence between this group Neko absentmindedly thought. They were like the outcasts that no one wanted to talk to. Like the pets that no one wanted to keep. Like children that were unwanted by their mothers. The last thought brought a stinging to her eyes. It brought back painful memories that she did not want dug up.

"What's wrong Miayumi? You're not afraid are you?" The teenage girl brought her face up to glare at her mocker. She was still envisioning hurting the youkai in some way or another. Hiei saw the same coldness in them that he had seen the day that she had been a ruthless killer. It was not as intense, but it was still there. He resisted the urge to shudder.

Kurama turned to look at the human girl. He had felt a sudden surge of power emitting from her small frame. It had been faint, as if it was being suppressed or hidden. _What power is this that Tsuki contains?_ Disturbing as it was, the kitsune brought his attention back to Sadiron. He was hiding something as well. A secret about something important.

"Are you going to fight us yourself this time, or send more of your henchmen in?" All eyes were focused on the youkai and Neko now. Somehow it seemed that this was their fight and no one else's. Not even Hiei's.

"I _already_ told you I did not come to fight. I came for you and the fire apparition. Nothing more, nothing _less_."

She shook her head and laughed. It was cruel laughter. Hiei cocked his head to the side in bemusement. The voice that had left her lips had not been her own. This voice was cold, icy, and emotionless. It had been the voice of a fighter. Someone who didn't tolerate anything from anyone. He somehow found himself attracted to this. The fire apparition liked the fact that the girl could stand up for herself.

A dry breeze had picked up. Neko stood impassively as her jet-black hair whipped around her face. Most of the emotion had melted from her face except the irate look in her eyes. Hiei noted that they had nearly turned black with fury. Makai had also brought this behavior out of her. _Is **this** the Miayumi Sadiron was talking about? Or is this actually the **secret** that she's been hiding from everyone?_

"You killed someone Sadiron." It was just a simple statement. No anger, not a question. The ice youkai replied by grinning. It disgusted the rest of them, Neko had seemed not to notice. In fact, she didn't seem to acknowledge her companions either. Almost as if she was not herself, but someone else.

"You betrayed someone." Her words were almost lost on the wind; it had picked up remarkably. "And then you killed them." Fists clenched at her sides, she continued. "You **_violated_** their _trust_! You sick bastard."

Yusuke had made an involuntary step away from the girl. Her voice was biting into his skin; it was full of such fury that he would never be able to comprehend. Kurama had also been startled by Neko.

He was studying her. _This presence is not **Tsuki**. It is something **far** more powerful and ancient._ His eyes met with Hiei's and he frowned. The shorter one did not respond, but the kitsune could clearly see that he knew something was wrong as well.

Sadiron finally broke the unbearable silence. "You see, you do remember." He had seemed somewhat shaken at first, but now his grin returned. "This girl you inhabit is merely your reincarnation. Lucky for me, this means that you do not have all the power that you once had." This was returned with a glare. "Yes, I _did_ kill someone. _Several_ someones actually." His gaze shifted to Hiei.

"However, I was not the one who had the pleasure of killing your father." Hiei stiffened.

"No, you couldn't. You were a coward and weak. He bested you and you ran away before he could finish the job." Piercing eyes shot to her face. She smirked, "You were afraid of a little bit of _fire_."

"_Damn_ you Miayumi. You're so damn smart. But that didn't _save_ you did it?" There was no response. From her anyway. Hiei had made his way towards the ice youkai.

"_What_ about my father?" Kurama noticed that Hiei was dangerously close to losing his control. _Fox, stay **out** of this. _The kitsune hung his head in defeat. He might get killed if he tried to intervene. None of them had ever seen Hiei this upset.

However, Sadiron had complete control of the situation. He gave a nice half smile. "What would you like to know? _Why_, _how_, _when_…pick one."

"Stop!" A possessed Neko stepped towards them. "Being the _filth_ that you are, you have no permission to tell him. You were the one who became the _traitor_. _Traitors_ are _liars_."

"You're not making sense Miayumi. Tell me, are you losing your control over the girl? She does have a strong spirit of her own." Her eyes narrowed. "Fine, you tell him. Be my guest."

She pointed to him, "He-…" Her eyes fluttered and she put her arm forth as she found herself kneeling on the ground. She struggled to maintain control. "Your father-…" She didn't get any further, all of her effort had been put into keeping herself conscious.

"I know not even the great Miayumi can possess a human for long periods of time. At least not now. You did just come back." He kneeled by her and looked into her eyes as the coldness slipped from them. "Sleep for now and we'll meet again."

The presence finally gave up trying to control Neko and she slumped to the ground, unconscious. Yusuke was the first to reach her, Kurama was right behind him. "She's still breathing."

"Of course she is, she was only possessed detective." Hiei turned away from them and slowly exhaled. He had been holding his breath. _He's right, Neko is a strong spirit all on her own. _A chill flew down his spine. The more strength that she showed, the more he found himself drawn to her. The thought scared him. He had felt an animal like lust towards other females before, but this was just not the same. There was emotion twisted with it. He _cared_ if this human lived or died. He _cared._

Sadiron was beaming at him. "She's hard to resistant, isn't she?" There was a hint of jealousy in his tone that Hiei picked up. Did he envy the fire apparition? "I must admit, I was once pulled in by her too. But she had no need for me, and I was cast out from _her_ world."Flames were burning in the ice demon's eyes. Memories of pain and hurt were all too evident on his face, they had not been missed by the two other youkai present. "She saw everyone else _but_ me. I would have done anything for her, and you know what _she_ told me when I confessed this to her?" He laughed bitterly. "She told me that I was too frail and that my _heart_ contained _evil_. She threw me aside like I was _garbage_! _Me_, who had done _everything_ for her attention! She _shunned_ me." He became quiet in thought. "As did your father."

Hiei's head jerked at the assertion. "What do _you_ know about _him_?" There was a desperate plea in his voice that he hid with fury. _I don't even know who my father was, or anything about him. Sadiron seems to be the expert on him. _He knew that Sadiron would evade the question, the youkai did not prove him wrong.

"All in due time of course. Whenever _our_ little Miayumi learns how to control her _possession_ of the girl, we can _confront_ each other." He reached into a pocket in his cloak for something. He pulled out a pendent on a long chain and tossed it to the ground at Hiei's feet. "That belonged to your _father_. He had it with him at all times. _Something_ sentimental for you to _cherish_. Till then…" The three boys watched in disbelief as a cyclone of blue mist surrounded Sadiron. It took only seconds for it to completely envelope him.

When the smoke had finally cleared, Sadiron was gone. Kurama walked over the spot that he had been standing in. "I'm guessing that would be the same technique he used to get into the human world."

"Thanks for stating the obvious there buddy." Yusuke shifted uncomfortably, he had been trying to ease the situation. Joking had always made him feel better, but this time it didn't seem to help at all. He looked at Hiei, who was stooping to pick up the pendant.

There was a flame carved into the golden pendant. _A fire emblem pendant. _It didn't tell him much, but it was a start. He had thought about trying to force Miayumi to enter Neko's body again so that he could learn something, anything. However, he was too worried about the effect that it would have on Neko. He had already seen that possession physically wore her out, he had no idea what it could do to her emotional stability. It could end up damaging her mind, or sending her to her death. There probably wouldn't have been a problem if it were a human he didn't know, but he couldn't bring himself to purposely hurt this one. _"She's hard to resistant, isn't she?" _That damn youkai had gotten to him. 

"Hiei…ummm…"

"Spare me your sentiments detective. They're not important." The boy watched the ground as if thinking of something to say. "What is important is that you stay out of this, along with your idiot of a friend."

"Hiei, Kuwabara and me are your _friends_! We're not gonna let you face this alone!" He held up a hand to silence him.

"This is _none_ of _your_ business! You two will only get in _my_ way." Yusuke had clenched his fists.

"_Fine_, if that's how you want it," slowly he turned and walked away.

"Hiei, I know that you're trying to protect them, but they are strong allies."

"I meant you _too_ fox. This is none of your concern either." Kurama did not respond. He understood that Hiei felt as if this was something that he had to face alone. His pride and arrogance were fighting with his rationality. Not that he could blame him, he had just found out that his father had been brutally murdered. Let alone that he had found someone that had actually known where he came from. Hiei was not known for handling emotional situations very well.

They were interrupted by a sound coming from Neko's direction. It seemed like she had regained consciousness.

She awoke to find herself on her back staring at the darkening sky. _What the hell am I doing outside and why do I feel like I just got hit by a train full of circus animals? _She started to sit up and jumped as arms helped lift her from the ground. A boy that she had never seen before was comforting her…no…she had seen him. Right before…_Sadiron_. She didn't remember much, except a dark black void…like the one that she had experienced in Makai. She had been controlled again. _Miayumi I would guess._

"How long have I been out?"

"Nearly ten minutes," she heard from behind her. _Hiei._ She turned to look at him. He looked angry and yet sad at the same time. A pang went to her chest. He had been hurt by _something_.

"I'll take you home." It hadn't taken long at all for the youkai to get her home. The darkness had created a good cover for them. As they approached her house, he noticed that none of the windows were lit. "You live alone." "Yeah, I do." He sensed hesitation and pain in those words. It was a sore subject. He would leave it alone then. "Thanks for bringing me home…" All too obviously, she wasn't quite sure what to say to him. Maybe she could ask what had happened before she woke up from her little nap…but it didn't look like he wanted to talk about it yet. "You're welcome," the words were foreign to him and they came out awkwardly. He brought himself to look at her, she had been watching him. They held each other's gaze for several precious minutes, neither wanting to look away. He was the one to finally speak. He had pulled the pendant out of his cloak. "I don't care about this, even if it is real. You may have it." Slowly, he slipped it over her head. Before he could lower his arms, she had pulled him in closer and had pressed her mouth against his. His head jerked back slightly from surprise, but then he relaxed. Tightening his arms around her, he returned the kiss. Tentatively, he pulled away from her. He brought his hand up to caress her face; it was soft and smooth to the touch. He wanted this moment to last forever, to never go back to the world of finding his father's murderer. It took him a while to finally let go of her. Taking a step back, he grinned at her. "I'll see you soon." Ok there's that chapter. Fun stuff huh? Was about time we got on with the plot of this story. Anywho I'm out Power surge 


	8. Frozen

Flames of Deceit-Chapter 8

Okay so I'm not good at updating very often….heh…but I'm out of school now…so maybe that'll help some…

So lets do a recap….last chapter…yusuke was supposed to go on another date with Keiko, which didn't work out because Sadiron interfered. Hiei and Neko were along for the ride…Kurama has been issued by Koenma to watch Neko…and he himself has met the new enemy. Neko was possessed by an ancient being known as Miayumi…she has connections to Hiei's apparently murdered father. Wonderful yes?

Chapter 8-Frozen

Hiei stared out of the window which had now become his sanctuary…He was actually grateful that Kurama had allowed that to him…However at the moment, he was very deep in thought...His father, he had not even had thoughts about the history of his father for so long now. It had been years, then this girl fell into his lap and held the key to everything that he had ever wanted to know. She was a reincarnate...she was two people, well a human and a youkai all in one. Strange that a youkai would choose a human as a host, but than again this was not the first time something like this had happened...It had happened with Kurama. And yet this _Miayumi_ did not quite have a hold over her host just yet. There was still Neko there.

He felt a chill run down his spine...they had shared a kiss the last time they had encountered each other...and it had been Neko, not Miayumi that had initiated it. He hated to admit it, but he feared that he would lose the girl to the ancient power that was trying to gain control over her. Even if she had known his father or not. He wanted to learn of _her_ past, not the one who knew his father. Well, actually he wanted to learn both...yet he was torn between the two...Strange how him of all youkai would find a way to fall for a human. He was still upset with himself for it, but not was upset as he had been at first. He was beginning to see it as a weakness, a hindrance. This feeling was unwelcome to him. She wasn't a hindrance, she was...something...but he could not place what.

He did not turn as Kurama entered the room. "You're still thinking about it aren't you?" If he had not known any better, he would have thought that he meant the kiss, but he had not told anyone of it.

"I am curious...that is all" Kurama nodded, understanding. That was his way of saying that he could not stop thinking about what was going to happen. He had no idea of what he was going to learn, and that made him want to know all the more.

"I think we may have found the reason as to why they are after our "gifted" friend." Hiei turned to look at him, a curious look barely visible in his eyes.

"gifted?" _Gifted? You make it sound as if she has a disease...like something is wrong with her...Fox, if you only knew what feelings I am harboring towards this human...If you only knew what this was doing to my insides...if you knew that this was shredding my insides. I fear this emotion. I fear losing this human...what is wrong with me?_

"Gifted as in she holds a youkai within her mind." The fire apparition shrugged. This was all things that he had already gone over in his head...along with some thoughts that he could not keep from entering his head...The kiss had helped to ignite those.

"I think it would be safe to bring her here" A stare was the return... "Only as a precaution...now that we know that the youkai are indeed after her, we should keep a watch on her. _Especially_ if Miayumi decides to enter her body again."

"You want her to stay here? In _your_ house?" Kurama now chose to sit in a chair not far from him.

"I have convinced my family to stay on their vacation...they believe that there is bad weather that is not lifting, that is also my excuse for not being able to leave the house. Not only that, but we would have full surveillance over her. If she was attacked, or if she changed...we would be able to protect her from either herself or Sadiron." The red head paused for a moment to let that sink in... He did not say the rest of what he had been thinking, but then again he didn't have too. _Not only that, but you wouldn't mind having her around for company._

Hiei raised his eyes to him, "She wouldn't agree. You have seen it for yourself, she doesn't want protection. She wants to feel independent." That was true...she seemed to be hiding from everyone...He had not heard from her since the last time...it had been a couple of days now. Kurama started to speak, but was interrupted. "I don't care if you are placed under assignment by Koenma to watch her, she will not hear of it. And neither will I. This is none of my concern." He had lied. He wanted her near, to watch her...to learn anything of his father. But it seemed wrong. She needed to be left alone. _I saw emotional distress in her eyes the last time. She felt drawn to me, yet she wanted to push away. She was scared. Scared of the thing that was taking over her slowly. _That had hurt him, seeing the look in her eyes that wanted to run from him.

"You care." This was not a question, a statement. Rage suddenly seethed forth. How dare he say that?

"HOW COULD I CARE? SHE'S A HUMAN AND NOTHING MORE TO ME!" How dare Kurama read him so accurately?

Kurama frowned, then turned and left the room leaving Hiei to his thoughts.

"Okay...so we have gathered that the youkai are indeed after the girl, and also Hiei." Koenma slammed his head down on his desk, papers flying in every direction.

"I already knew that! Tell me something I don't know!"

" The youkai know of Hiei's father" Botan turned to the youth that had entered.

"Kurama? Aren't you on assignment?" He shrugged.

"I don't think it matters much now. She doesn't pose a threat, at least not yet." Koenma raised an eyebrow.

"Yet?" Receiving a nod in return he urged the Kitsune to go on with the story.

It had taken several knocks at the door before Neko finally decided she would answer it. Not to her surprise she found Yusuke and Kuwabara asking for entry. She stood to the side and let them pass into the threshold. She smiled dimly and looked away. She was much more inverted than when they had first met her. It was sad.

For the first time Yusuke got a good look at where she was living. It was beautiful, or it would have been if she had been taking better care of it. It was big too, yet somehow he had the feeling that she was living all on her own. That was strange. The rooms were sparsely occupied, except for what little furniture she owned. None of the lights were lit...odd. He could smell the faint aroma of candles. Such a gloomy atmosphere...He felt sorry for her.

Kuwabara seemed to be keeping his distance from her. He probably had detected a slight power increase since the last time they had encountered each other. That wouldn't be surprising seeing as how her body was harboring a youkai.

She offered them seats out of politeness. She was oddly quiet, even for herself.

It was the spirit detective who finally broke the sad silence. "Has she appeared since the last time?" A wary glance was sent in the other teenagers direction...He shifted uncomfortably. Urameshi had told him everything. And he had finally recognized the feeling that he got whenever he was around her. Just like Kurama, he could sense two entities in one body. "He knows." Slowly, she shook her head.

"No, but that doesn't mean that I can't sense her. It feels like there is something far greater than my understanding going on right now."

"You don't remember much do you?" Her eyes lowered to the floor. He now knew what she had meant when she asked if he had ever felt like he had been controlled. A twinge of contrite ran through him. He would probably never understand what exactly this girl was going through.

"It seems I hold the key to Hiei's past." Her voice had startled them. Yusuke nodded.

"Yeah, it kinda seems that way." _Jeez, I don't know what to say to her to make it better. _Silence loomed between them. If she could have done anything right now, Neko would have run. She just wanted to get away from this all.

"Where did you come from?" It just kind of blurted out of Kuwabara's mouth. "It's just, you've never mentioned you're parents, never mentioned your past, you just kinda appeared out of thin air." She smirked at him.

"I suppose this was going to happen sooner or later" She sighed heavily. "I'm not really sure how to begin, I've never really had to tell this story to anyone."

Yusuke for once being helpful, placed a hand on her shoulder, "Take your time if you need to." Nodding, she searched for the words to say.

"Well I...I had a father and mother once. But after we lost my little brother...my mother went...insane." She looked at the ground staring at it intensely...fighting back tears. She was not going to cry. "My dad loved her so much, he stayed by her side. He tended to everything. But he didn't see what she did to me." Clenching her fists, she continued, "She took everything out on me. She told me it was my fault that my brother wasn't alive...I was so young, I didn't even grasp the concept of death. She used to hit me. Yell at me, constantly. I didn't know any other life. Then...then my father fell ill." Nervously, she began to fidget with the fire pendant that was around her neck.

"He died not long afterwards. I was six. I still didn't know what death was. Mom always told me it was my fault that dad died too. She said I failed him as his child and he died because of that. She refused to believe I was even her's."

Yusuke was giving the wall a blank look, which was being returned back. He had no idea that her past was like this.

"I was thrown out of my house...I had nowhere to go...It's amazing that I even survived. That's when Akashi found me. I had attacked him, trying to get money so I could eat something. He ended up bringing me home with him that night. He showed me kindness that I had never seen in my life. He fed me and clothed me...I guess he kind of became my second father. That was three years ago...that he took me off of the streets. He made a deal with me recently, if I go to school and prove that I can make it on my own, he wouldn't turn me over to any agencies." A grim smile spread across her lips. "Akashi is leasing this house for me...He's my guardian...my savior if you want to believe that or not." Emerald eyes had dulled, they were full of despair. Despair that no one should ever have to go through.

"Now, I'm here. And now...I have demons attacking me, saying I'm part of someone else's past." She neglected to mention the dreams that she had been having lately.

"You're not alone." Yusuke had stood now. "You have people to help you. Me and Kuwabara, and I know that Kurama and Hiei are willing to help too." He caught her flinch at the mention of Hiei. Odd, but he was sure that she had some reason for it.

"thank you." It was sincere. One of the only things she had ever said that had meaning behind it.

okay...there you go...hopefully I will have time to write some more tomorrow.


End file.
